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MOGADISHU - Triumphant Somali government forces and their Ethiopian allies have marched into Mogadishu after Islamist rivals abandoned the war-scarred city they had held for six months.
The flight of the Islamists was a dramatic turn-around in the volatile Horn of Africa nation after they took Mogadishu in
June and spread across the south imposing sharia rule.
Terrified of yet more violence in a city that has become a byword for chaos, some Mogadishu residents greeted the arriving government troops, while others hid.
"People are cheering as they wave flowers to the troops," said resident Abdikadar Abdulle, adding scores of government military vehicles had passed the Somalia National University west of the city centre.
Parts of Mogadishu shook with the sound of gunfire and there were outbreaks of looting after leaders of the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) fled its base early in the morning. Some fighters ditched their uniforms to avoid reprisals.
"We have been defeated. I have removed my uniform. Most of my comrades have also changed into civilian clothes," one former SICC fighter said. "Most of our leaders have fled."
The fall of Mogadishu came about 10 days after the Islamists sought to march on the government base of Baidoa. That prompted Ethiopia to come openly into the war, proving the decisive factor in saving the government and pushing back the Islamists.
But it was unclear what the SICC's next step would be, and analysts feared they could launch a protracted guerrilla campaign. Experts also questioned whether the weak Somali government could maintain security if the Ethiopians left.
"The idea that the Ethiopians can just bring this government from outside, plonk it down in the capital and walk away and everything will be solved, I think that's very, very unrealistic," Richard Dowden, director of the Royal African Society, told Sky News in London.
"Mogadishu is now in chaos," Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told Al Jazeera television.
Islamist defence lines were routed by a joint force of Ethiopian armour and government fighters. But SICC leader Ahmed said his side's hasty withdrawal was a just tactical move.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi vowed to pursue the Islamist leaders. "We will not let Mogadishu burn," he added.
The UN refugee agency said on Wednesday thousands had fled and were in a "desperate situation". On Thursday it said at least 17 people died and about 140 were missing after boats in which they were fleeing capsized off Yemen.
With Eritrea accused of backing the Islamists, many had feared the conflict would engulf the Horn. Ethiopia, like the United States, says the Islamists are supported by al Qaeda.
Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi landed at Afgoye in an Ethiopian military helicopter, 30 km west of Mogadishu, where he was met by cheering crowds and clan leaders.
- REUTERS
