Ethiopian-Backed Somali Troops Advance on Islamists

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Somali government troops backed by Ethiopian tanks moved closer to the southern town of Kismayo Sunday for a possible attack on the Islamist fighters last outpost. The Islamists set up a new base in Kismayo shortly after being driven out of the capital, Mogadishu, Thursday by Somali and Ethiopian troops. Islamist fighters have taken up positions in Jilib, just north of Kismayo, and residents there are fleeing. Reports from the region say Ethiopian warplanes have been flying over Kismayo, and the Islamists may have mined the road to it. Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed has vowed to continue fighting the country's interim government. The International Committee of the Red Cross says hundreds of people have been killed in the fighting. The U.N. refugee agency says it is preparing for the possible exodus of thousands of Somalis to neighboring countries. A spokesman for the agency says it is preparing enough relief supplies for up to 50,000 people in northeastern Kenya, along the border with Somalia. Somalia has not had an effective central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.