NAIROBI, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Somali Islamist militiamen early Monday fled their last major stronghold Kisimayo towards the Kenyan border after the Ethiopian-backed government troops captured the city, a Somali lawmaker said on Monday.

A governmental soldier stands guard during a meeting between Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi and clan elders inside the Global hotel in Mogadishu, Dec. 31, 2006. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    "Kismayo city is now under interim government's control. The government backed by the Ethiopian troops chased the Islamists this morning," Somali lawmaker Awad Ashara told Xinhua by telephone from Baidoa, the current seat of the UN-backed government.

    According to the lawmaker, Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi has offered an amnesty for Islamist fighters handing over their weapons.

    "The government is providing amnesty for them provided they hand over their weapons," Gedi told a news conference in Mogadishu on Monday.

    Gedi said Islamist fighters had been "misled by international terrorists," stressing that there would be no amnesty for leaders of the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC).

    Gedi gave a three-day ultimatum to Mogadishu residents from Tuesday to hand over weapons in one of the world's most dangerous and gun-infested cities -- or be disarmed by force.

    "They (Islamists) have run away," Ashara added. The retreat from Kismayo is seen as a major reversal for the SCIC, a militia that swept through much of Somalia mid-2006.

    The Islamists withdrew to the southern city of Kisimayo on Thursday, after abandoning the capital Mogadishu as a result of heavy fighting involving Ethiopian artillery, tanks and aircraft.

    Kenya, which announced Monday it would convene a crisis regional summit on Somalia, has beefed up security at its long and porous frontier with the Horn of African nation in an effort to prevent the Islamists from crossing over.

    Reports said U.S. boats were believed to be patrolling the sea off Somalia to prevent SCIC leaders, or foreign militant supporters, from escaping as Ethiopian forces advance cautiously, fearing mines and booby traps.

    An Islamic commander, Sheikh Yaqub Ishak, reportedly confirmed his forces had left Kismayo, but said they would not "stop fighting the Ethiopian invader."

    The SCIC assumed control of Mogadishu in June, driving warlords out and rapidly extending its influence to much of central and southern Somalia.

    Some analysts say the SCIC's popularity stemmed from its ability to transcend the clan enmities that have bedeviled Somalia since the overthrow of former President Mohamed Siad Barrein 1991.

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A Somalian stands next to an armoured vehicle, which the Islamists Courts Council surrendered, in Mogadishu December 28, 2006.    (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    NAIROBI, Dec 28 (Xinhua) -- Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi said on Thursday that the government troops had entered the capital of Mogadishu, reports reaching here said.

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    NAIROBI, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi and the entire cabinet will move base to the capital Mogadishu after the withdrawal of the Union of Islamic Courts which had ruled the city since June, a government spokesman said on Thursday.

    "It is not only the prime minister but the entire government, the entire cabinet, members of parliament and assistant ministers. They will go to Mogadishu to organize the population to welcome the Somali forces," Abdirahman Dinari, government spokesman told Xinhua by telephone from Somalia.

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    NAIROBI, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Somali Islamic courts pulled out of the capital of Mogadishu on Thursday as forces of Ethiopia and Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) prepared to launch attacks there, witnesses said.

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    WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- The United States reiterated on Wednesday its stand that signaled support for Ethiopia's military offensive in Somalia, saying "Ethiopia has genuine security concerns with regard to developments within Somalia." Full story>>>

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