Islamic fighters defeated, Somali leader says

updated 8:35 a.m. ET Jan. 2, 2007

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia’s prime minister said Tuesday that rival Islamic fighters have been scattered and that he does not expect any more major fighting for control of the country.

Government forces, backed by Ethiopian troops, were pursuing the remnants of an Islamic militia that until two weeks ago controlled most of southern Somalia and threatened to drive out the internationally-backed government.

But Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi said his rivals were scattered and that a group of them offered to surrender on Tuesday.

“We asked out troops to collect them and bring them back home,” he said, refusing to provide any details about how many fighters were involved or where they were.

The rest of “Islamists are scattered in the bush,” he said. “Maybe small fights can take place, but we are trying to destroy them.”

Meanwhile, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told parliament Tuesday that Ethiopia may withdraw its troops in Somalia within weeks.

He told lawmakers said his troops were not peacekeepers and it would be too costly to keep them in Somalia, calling on the international community to act quickly to send in peacekeepers to avoid a vacuum when Ethiopian troops withdraw.

“We have accomplished our mission. After this our area of focus will be withdrawing of our defense forces and continuing the ongoing anti-poverty struggle (in Ethiopia),” Zenawi said.

Stay 'for a few weeks'
“Of course when we do this it does not mean that we will abandon ... the Somali government and its people’s ongoing effort to stabilize peace in the country,” the prime minister said. “We will stay in Somalia for a few weeks, maybe for two weeks.”

Mohamed Abdulle Hassan Siidi / AP Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi

Diplomats from the region were working to arrange the speedy deployment of African peacekeepers to help the interim government establish its authority in the country, which has known only anarchy for 15 years.

A three-day period also began Tuesday for Somalis to voluntarily surrender their arms to government-designated points. Ethiopian troops reported that at one such point in the capital, Mogadishu, no one had handed in any weapons in the morning.

As the last remaining stronghold of the Islamic group — the port of Kismayo — was overrun by government troops backed by Ethiopian tanks and MiG fighter jets, the net began closing on suspected al-Qaida fighters believed to be sheltered by the hard-line group.

Defense Minister Col. Barre “Hirale” Aden Shire, speaking in Kismayo Tuesday, said young men who fought with the Islamic militants are “pardoned” and could join Somalia’s national army.

“You have heard a lot of times that the transitional government is weak,” Shire told thousands of Kismayo residents gathered at Freedom Park in the town’s center. “But I will confirm you that the national army are in control of all regions in the country — east, center and south.”

MORE FROM AFRICA

Africa Section Front

S. Africa to treat all HIV-positive babies Admiral: Sea too big to stop all piracy Rat pack: Scientists warming up to African rodent Africa Section Front   Add Africa headlines to your news reader: