KavkazCenter - Puppet «government» to declare «martial law»

Puppet «government» to declare «martial law»

Ali Mohamad Gedi, the puppet "prime minister" of so call "interim government", has said that "parliament" will declare a period of "martial law" to maintain control of the country after Ethiopian troops wrested the capital from rival Islamic force.

Gedi told reporters on Thursday that the "martial law" would be declared on Saturday for a period of three months.

The fall of Mogadishu came after a 10-day offensive by Ethiopian occupation forces to reclaim much of the territory seized by the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) since June.

The flight of the Somalia Islamic Courts Council was a dramatic turn-around in the Horn of Africa nation, which has not had an effective government since the 1991 ouster of a dictator, after they had spread across the south imposing Sharia rule and confined the so call "interim government" to its base in Baidoa until less than two weeks ago.

Abdirahman Dinari, the puppet "government spokesman", said the Islamic force had fled to the southern port city of Kismayu and that the Ethiopian occupation troops now controlled 95 per cent of Somalia.

But analysts said an ethiopian victory was in no way certain and that the conflict could be about to take another turn.

Al Jazeera's Somalia correspondent, said the Islamic courts' decision to pull out was unexpected.

Meles Zenawi, the Ethiopian prime minister, declared that occupation forces would pursue the Islamic courts leaders.

The Islamic courts' chairman has said that his side's hasty withdrawal was a tactical move in a war that began last week against Ethiopian troops defending Somalia's weak government.

Al Jazeera's correspondent said that local commanders have already begun taking over parts of the city.

"It looks now that the government has on its hands a very difficult task in pacifying Mogadishu ... It looks like Ethiopian troops will be here for some time to come".

Agencies