Somali Islamists withdraw from Mogadishu

DUBAI, Dec 28 (Reuters) A top Somali Islamist leader said today that all Islamist forces had withdrawn from the capital Mogadishu.

''We have withdrawn all the leaders and members who worked in the capital,'' Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told Al Jazeera television by telephone.

He said the Somali Islamists remained united and explained the move as a change in tactics.

A joint force of Ethiopian and Somali government troops advanced to just 30 km (18 miles) from Mogadishu yesterday but a representative said they would beseige the capital rather than attack it.

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