Militia loyal to Islamic Courts still threaten Somali capital, says Minister

SOMALIA’S interior minister said yesterday that thousands of fighters loyal to the deposed Islamic Courts régime still pose a threat in the capital, while a Somali government spokesman said government troops — backed by Ethiopian soldiers — are fighting about 600 Islamic militiamen in the south of the country.

Government forces have surrounded the fighters “from every direction” in the southwestern district of Badade, near the Kenyan border, Somali government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari told The Associated Press.

“The fighting is going on,” Dinari said. “We hope they will either surrender or be killed by our troops.”