Somali government troops enter Mogadishu outskirts

MOGADISHU, Dec 28 (Reuters) Somali government troops entered the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu today after Islamist rivals abandoned the city to chaos in the face of an Ethiopian-backed advance.

''People are cheering as they wave flowers to the troops,'' said resident Abdikadar Abdulle, adding that scores of military vehicles had passed the Somalia National University.

Parts of Mogadishu shook with the sound of gunfire and outbreaks of looting after the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) fled their base to avoid advancing government fighters backed by Ethiopian tanks and jets.

''We have been defeated. I have removed my uniform. Most of my comrades have also changed into civilian clothes,'' one former SICC fighter told Reuters. ''Most of our leaders have fled.'' The SICC had brought a semblance of stability to Mogadishu by imposing sharia, Islamic law, after chasing US backed warlords from the city in June. Islamists and residents said order had collapsed with their departure.

''We have withdrawn all the leaders and members who worked in the capital,'' Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told Al Jazeera television. ''Mogadishu is now in chaos.'' Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi confirmed Somali government and Ethiopian troops had reached the outskirts of the capital and said they would pursue the Islamist leaders.

''We are discussing what to do so that Mogadishu will not descend into chaos. We will not let Mogadishu burn,'' Meles told reporters in Addis Ababa.

Government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said earlier the government had some way to go towards taking over. ''We are taking control of the city and I will confirm when we have established complete control,'' he said.

He said the Islamists had fled to the southern port city of Kismayu and the administration controlled 95 percent of the Horn of Africa country.

''Our forces already effectively control Mogadishu because we have taken over the two control points on the main roads outside the city,'' he said. ''Within two to three hours we will capture the whole city.'' Later he told Al Jazeera the government had declared a state of emergency ''to control security and stability''.

MORE REUTERS PDM RAI1821