Fall of Mogadishu

The Fall of Mogadishu occurred on December 28, 2006, when the militaries of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and Ethiopian troops entered the Somali capital unopposed. It came after a swift string of TFG and Ethiopian military victories against the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which had its headquarters in Mogadishu before it fled south.

Background

The ICU was confined to the capital city of Mogadishu after a series of successive losses at the battles of Baidoa, Bandiradley, Beledweyne, and finally Jowhar.

Somalia's envoy to Ethiopia confirmed Ethiopian-backed Somali government troops would lay siege to Mogadishu until it surrenders, rather than assault the city. "We are not going to fight for Mogadishu to avoid civilian casualties… Our troops will surround Mogadishu until they surrender," he told reporters in Addis Ababa.

ICU troops abandoned their barracks in the town of Balad, the last town before the outskirts of Mogadishu. Ethiopian and Somali government forces, accompanied by patrolling Ethiopian jets, approached within 30 km (18 mi) of the city.

Clan leaders in Mogadishu are considering whether to back the government troops advancing on the capital. This would...
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