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Dubai: A coalition of Ethiopian and Somali government troops advanced to within 30km of Islamist-held Mogadishu yesterday, but a representative said they would besiege the Somali capital rather than attack it.
As Arab efforts to stop the war intensified, the UAE yesterday called on Ethiopia to withdraw its troops from Somalia.
The appeal was made by Mohammad Hussain Al Sha'ali, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, during a meeting in Abu Dhabi with Mahmoud Ahmad Jaz, an envoy of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who delivered a message to President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Voicing the UAE's concern over armed hostilities in Somalia, Al Sha'ali urged Addis Ababa to "halt this war" and called for "the withdrawal of foreign forces from Somalia," WAM reported. He urged Somalia's neighbours to "encourage reconciliation among Somali factions".
In Addis Ababa, Somali Ambassador Abdikarin Farah said: "We are not going to fight for Mogadishu, to avoid civilian casualties."
Earlier, pro-government forces seized the key town of Jowhar before taking Balad, north of Mogadishu.
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