Somali capital changes hands
Somalia has lacked an effective central government since 1991
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Friday, 29, Dec 2006 11:10
Six months of sharia rule by the retreating Islamists ended in the Somalian capital today as forces loyal to the now-dominant transitional government entered the city.
Military support from Ethiopian forces helped oust the Islamists from Mogadishu yesterday, following a week of heavy fighting in the south-west of the country in which thousands of people are believed to have died.
Prime minister Ali Mohamad Ghedi has said that a three-month period of martial law will be declared as soon as the interim parliament approves the measure. The situation throughout the country remains extremely unstable as the new regime seeks to consolidate its power.
Ethiopian troops have captured the abandoned US embassy in the Somalian capital, the Reuters news agency reports, while elsewhere in Mogadishu crowds are gathering to welcome the transitional government's forces.
As the week-long conflict appears to be drawing to a close, attention is now turning to the country's future - which could include further conflict if Ethiopian troops withdraw from the Horn of Africa country.
Meanwhile the retreating Islamists are currently being pursued to the country's extreme south, where they are seeking refuge in their last remaining stronghold, the port of Kismayo.