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Leave Somalia, Ethiopia told

Supreme Islamic Courts Council militia organises protest rally

MOGADISHU: Thousands of enraged Somali demonstrators vowed to fight troops from neighbouring Ethiopia, which has sent soldiers across the border to protect Somalia's weak government from Islamist militants.

The protesters, who packed a stadium in the capital, Mogadishu, burned an Ethiopian flag and carried signs that said, ``We Must Fight Them!''

Longtime enemy

Ethiopia, a largely Christian country, is the longtime enemy of Somalia, which is mostly Muslim.

The rally was organised by the Supreme Islamic Courts Council militia, which seized control of the capital and much of southern Somalia after months of bloody battles.

The militia, whose top leader has been linked to Al-Qaeda, has installed strict religious rule, sparking fears it will become a Taliban-style regime.

``I came here to show that the presence of Ethiopian troops in Somalia is illegal,'' said Amina Hagi, a mother of four in Mogadishu, where anti-Ethiopian sentiment runs high.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other, carving much of the country into armed camps ruled by violence and clan law.

A new government, which includes some warlords linked to the violence of the past, was established two years ago with the support of the United Nations.

But the body wields no real power, has no military and only operates in Baidoa, 240 km from Mogadishu.

The Islamist militia stepped in and seized control of most of southern Somalia — prompting grave concerns in the United States, which accuses the group of harbouring Al-Qaeda leaders responsible for deadly 1998 bombings at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Ethiopian and Somali government officials deny Ethiopian troops are in the country, but Somali witnesses in several towns reported seeing them cross from Ethiopia four days ago and go first to Baidoa, the only town held by the Government, and then to nearby Wajid. — AP

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