KUWAIT CITY (Thomson Financial) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said in Kuwait that Ethiopian troops will complete their withdrawal from neighbouring Somalia after the arrival of African Union peacekeeping forces.
'Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu will withdraw when the African Union peacekeepers arrive to support Ugandan forces which are already there,' Meles was quoted by the state-run Kuwait News Agency KUNA as saying.
Meles announced in March that two-thirds of the Ethiopian deployment, which helped Somali troops drive out Islamists from south and central Somalia five months ago, had been withdrawn.
That decision to withdraw troops was taken by Ethiopia alone, Meles said, denying reported US pressure.
A small force of some 1,500 African Union troops from Uganda is currently deployed at strategic points around Mogadishu, but the African Union has not yet gathered the 8,000 troops planned for its peacekeeping force.
Hundreds of people have been killed in heavy clashes in the Somali capital between insurgents and government forces backed by Ethiopian troops. tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com afp/cml COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.