Ethiopian force pulling out of Somalia

Ethiopian soldiers left Mogadishu after a ceremony yesterday marking the transfer of security duties in Somalia. (Farah Abdi Warsameh/associated press)

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Ethiopia handed over security duties yesterday to a Somali force, raising fears that the Horn of Africa country - already fighting an Islamic insurgency and rampant piracy - could collapse into chaos if extremists with alleged Al Qaeda links move to seize power.

The Ethiopian pullout after a two-year deployment was widely welcomed by Somalis who had viewed the troops as an occupying force, but the Ethiopians also have provided a measure of stability in a land plagued by extreme poverty and relentless warfare.

Few expect the Somali government can ensure security even with the help of the Islamist faction it has agreed to share power with. The government controls only pockets of the capital, Mogadishu, and Baidoa, where Parliament sits - and has tried to rule without a president for weeks.

It was unclear when all the thousands of Ethiopians will depart. They were pulling out in stages and gave no exact dates for security reasons.

An African Union peacekeeping force of about 2,600 remains in Somalia, where it is limited to guarding the seaport, the capital's main airport, and government buildings, all in Mogadishu.

The United States this week circulated a draft resolution at the United Nations calling for a UN peacekeeping force to be deployed to replace the AU force.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991 and then turned on one another. Its weak UN-backed government called in the Ethiopian troops in December 2006 to oust an umbrella Islamic group - which included the al-Shabab extremists at the center of the current fighting - that had controlled southern Somalia and the capital for six months.

The Islamists launched an insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians and prompted Somalia's president to resign in December, saying he had lost control of the country.

ASSOCIATED PRESS