Last Ethiopian troops leave capital

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The last Ethiopian troops left Somalia’s capital Thursday after a two-year deployment, and Islamist militiamen took control of the bases, fueling fears they could try to expand their power in this lawless Horn of Africa nation.

Ethiopia’s prime minister said he could not predict what would happen when his troops leave Somalia completely, but he expected the extremist Islamic group, al-Shabab, and others to try to seize control.

Al-Shabab, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization with links to al-Qaida, says it wants to establish an Islamic state in Somalia.

Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein told journalists he was confident Mogadishu is safe. And by sunset Thursday, Mogadishu residents reported a day without violence.

The African Union said over the weekend that the government and its Islamic allies have about 10,000 troops, but they are poorly equipped and require logistical support.

The departure of the Ethiopians has raised fears of a power vacuum at a time when Somalia is also facing rampant piracy off its coast. The country has not had a functioning government since 1991 and few expect that a Somali force can establish order even with the help of a relatively moderate faction of Islamists who had agreed to share power in October.

Al-Shabab has said that it now will focus its attacks on the about 2,400 African Union peacekeepers based in Mogadishu.

Somalia’s weak U.N.-backed government called in the Ethiopian troops in December 2006 to oust an umbrella Islamic group — which included the al-Shabab extremists — that had controlled southern Somalia and the capital for six months.

But few expect the Somali government now can ensure security. It controls only pockets of the capital, Mogadishu, and Baidoa, where the parliament sits — and has tried to rule without a president for weeks.

Abdullahi Yusuf resigned from the presidency last month, saying he had lost control of the country to Islamic insurgents.