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| Islamist forces 'quit Mogadishu' | Islamist forces 'quit Mogadishu' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A top Somali Islamic leader says his forces have abandoned the capital Mogadishu, following an offensive by the Ethiopian-backed government. | A top Somali Islamic leader says his forces have abandoned the capital Mogadishu, following an offensive by the Ethiopian-backed government. |
| "We have withdrawn all the leaders and members," Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told al-Jazeera TV. | "We have withdrawn all the leaders and members," Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told al-Jazeera TV. |
| Ethiopia has intervened to back the Somali government, capturing ground previously held by Islamist militias. | Ethiopia has intervened to back the Somali government, capturing ground previously held by Islamist militias. |
| The move came after the UN Security Council failed to agree on a call for the withdrawal of foreign forces. | The move came after the UN Security Council failed to agree on a call for the withdrawal of foreign forces. |
| "We did not leave the capital to chaos," said Sheikh Ahmed, who heads the executive committee of the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (SICS). | |
| "We left it to avert heavy bombing because Ethiopian forces are practising genocide against the Somali people," he added. | |
| Mogadishu residents have reported seeing convoys of Islamic fighters driving south. | |
| A joint force of Ethiopian and Somali government troops are reported to be just 30 km (18 miles) from Mogadishu, threatening to besiege the capital. |