MOGADISHU, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- The revered elders of Somalia's largest clan on Saturday welcomed Ethiopia's announcement that it will withdraw its troops from Somalia by the end of the year.

    Jamaale Mohamoud Nur, deputy chairman of the Council of Hawiye Unity and Culture, described the move as "good news", saying that it will help stabilize the war-torn Horn of Africa country.

    Elders of the Hawiye clan, who mainly inhabit in south-central Somalia, have been vocal in their opposition to the presence of the Ethiopian troops since they crossed into Somalia in December 2006 to help the Somali transitional government topple the Islamist administration that ruled south-central Somalia during the later half of that year.

    The Ethiopian government on Friday announced that it intends to withdraw its forces from Somalia in a letter sent on Tuesday to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping

    "The Ethiopian government has announced numerous times its intension to withdraw its troops from Somalia but failed to do so, so we call on them to make good on their promise this time round," Elder Nur told local reporters in Mogadishu.

    Ethiopian troops have already left most of the south-central Somali regions but remain in pockets in the capital Mogadishu and the southern town of Baidoa, the seat of the transitional national parliament.

    Nearly 3,500 African Union peacekeeping troops from Uganda and Burundi are also currently deployed in Mogadishu as part of the 8,000-strong peacekeeping force authorized by the UN Security Council early in 2007. Other African countries that pledged to contribute have not sent in their share of the troops.