UIC seizes police stations in Mogadishu

The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) forces have taken control of police stations in Mogadishu as Ethiopia began withdrawing troops from Somalia.

A spokesman for the Somali group, Abdirahim Issa Adow, said Sunday that the UIC was deploying troops to three police stations across restive Mogadishu to make sure the capital would not plunge into tumult.

“We started deploying our forces in Mogadishu police stations to protect the civilians,� Abdirahim added.

Ethiopian troops - who have been assisting the feeble Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces for two years - had pledged to pull out its forces from the conflict-plagued Horn of Africa nation by the end of 2008.

Officials have declined to announce an exact departure date amidst fears that the exit would allow oppositions to take even more control of the country.

Somalia has been in turmoil since 1991 when warlords toppled the former dictator president Mohammed Siad Barre. Ever since, the Horn of Africa country has been covered with violence and insurgency.