Region | Somalia
Ethiopia will pull out troops within two weeks, says prime minister
Ethiopia's prime minister said his country will pull its troops out of neighbouring Somalia within two weeks after helping the Somali interim government rout Islamists in a two-week war.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:00 January 6, 2007
- Ethiopian soldiers patrol Somalia's port city of Kismayu.
- Image Credit: Reuters
Adis Ababa: Ethiopia's prime minister said his country will pull its troops out of neighbouring Somalia within two weeks after helping the Somali interim government rout Islamists in a two-week war.
"We will stay there for a few days to help the transitional government in preserving stability, then we will pull out our troops ... this will take a week or a maximum of two weeks," Meles Zenawi told Al Jazeera television in remarks aired on Friday.
"We will not stay there for an extra hour after finishing our mission," he said. "We have concluded all combat operations."
The announcement came as Somali troops backed by Ethiopians prepared yesterday to launch a major assault on the last stronghold of the militiamen.
US warships patrolled off the Somali coast to prevent militiamen from escaping by sea. The US 5th Fleet said coalition ships were boarding vessels as part of the effort to deny an escape route to Al Qaida suspects believed working with the Somali Islamic movement.
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