Somali government forces rolled into the capital Mogadishu last night after a whirlwind advance that sent the country's feared Islamic militias fleeing for safety, writes Rob Crillyin Nairobi
They arrived in the outskirts of the pockmarked city hours after the Islamic Courts Union announced they were abandoning their stronghold in the face of an assault by Ethiopian forces who were sent to bolster government troops. A jubilant prime minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi, confirmed his troops had entered the city. "Our soldiers are already in Mogadishu, and tomorrow the government will enter Mogadishu," he said from Afgoye, 21km (13 miles) from the capital.
The Union of Islamic Courts had taken control of a swathe of central and southern Somalia after seizing Mogadishu in June. They were credited with restoring law and order and providing services such as schools and clinics.
Their rapid rise sidelined a weak transitional government which was set up two years ago in an attempt to restore peace to a country wracked by 15 years of anarchy.
Ethiopia sent forces to protect the government stronghold of Baidoa, which Addis Ababa viewed as the last bulwark against the rise of radical Islam in the Horn of Africa. Washington had also accused the Islamists of sheltering terrorists and feared the courts would turn Somalia into a haven for al-Qaeda.
Ethiopian warplanes launched a series of bombing raids on Sunday in an offensive that brought them close to the capital by Wednesday night. The Islamist assortment of poorly trained young fighters - often forced to swap their schoolbooks for AK47s - could not match Ethiopia's military might.
Somali government battlewagons rolled into Mogadishu yesterday. Some residents waved flowers and cheered, while others denounced the presence of Ethiopian forces nearby.
Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi said his forces would leave Somalia within days or weeks. Observers have warned that Somalia risks sliding back into anarchy, fuelled by clan rivalries, if the government fails to assert its authority over the whole country.
Goal, meanwhile, has called on the Government to use its influence with the Ethiopian regime to persuade it to withdraw its forces from Somalia.
"Let us use that clout to save lives," said CEO John O'Shea.