Addis Ababa - Ethiopian troops will remain in Somalia until African Union
forces fighting Islamists can take over, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn
said on Wednesday, as he met with his Somali counterpart.
"We are waiting for Amisom (African Union Mission in Somalia) force to come
and replace us, and until we get that assurance then we will be waiting
there," he told reporters.
Hailemariam, speaking alongside newly elected Somali President Hassan Sheikh
Mohamud, on his first official visit to the Ethiopian capital, gave no
timeline for a pull out of troops.
Mohamud said that the Shabaab is "literally defeated" - although many
experts say it remains a potent threat - and also warned foreign fighters
with the extremists to leave Somalia.
"We have no relationship, and we do not intend to have one, with the foreign
fighters in Somalia," Mohamud said. "The only option for them is to leave
the country."
Ethiopian troops and tanks invaded Somalia in November 2011 to attack
al-Qaeda linked Shabaab insurgents, capturing key towns including Baidoa.
At the same time, anti-Shabaab Somali forces and a 17 000-strong AU force
have been also battling the Islamists, and are seeking to link up with areas
held by Ethiopia.
Addis Ababa - long seen as a traditional enemy of Somalia - is a
controversial presence in Somalia. Ethiopia entered Somalia in a 2006
US-backed invasion, but was driven out three years later by a bitter
insurgency.
War-torn Somalia has been in chaos since the fall of President Siad Barre in
1991.
