Ethiopian fighter jets bombed Mogadishu International Airport in the middle of Somalia’s capital today.

Somalia's Ethiopian-backed government and its rivals in an Islamic movement fought to a bloody standstill today, and geared up for a major push as fearful villagers fled.

Thousands of Somalis fled their homes today as government and Ethiopians troops used artillery to defend against Islamic fighters attempting to advance on the UN-backed regime’s only stronghold.

Fighting broke out today between Somalia’s government troops and rival Islamic militia near where an EU envoy was meeting with senior leaders to press for peace talks.

Somalia’s most powerful politician today offered the country’s Islamic movement a role in government, but said it must pull back its militia to avert a looming war.

President Emomali Rakhmonov has been re-elected with 79.3% of the vote, according to preliminary results in Tajikistan’s presidential poll.

Heavy fighting erupted in northern Somalia today as Islamic forces clashed with militia backed by Ethiopian troops, an Islamic official said.

Fears of regional conflict has soared with the loss of a strategic port to Somalia’s radical Islamic militia, which faced angry demonstrations that erupted into deadly violence, and for the first time acknowledged getting help from foreign Muslims.