Somali Islamists today whipped up religious fervour against Ethiopia by telling demonstrators God had commanded that they fight troops sent into the country by Addis Ababa to oppose their advance.
Witnesses say Ethiopia has moved thousands of troops across the border to protect Baidoa, provincial base of Somalia's interim government, against Islamists who have seized Mogadishu and a large swathe of the country.
"We are telling Ethiopia that we are ready to die," said Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, a senior Islamist in charge of defence.
"We've been commanded by God to fight you," he said at a rally of hundreds of mostly young men and a few veiled women at a football stadium in the Islamist-controlled capital.
Demonstrators set fire to an Ethiopian flag to cries of "God is great!"
At the same rally, Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed also condemned the Ethiopian presence, but suggested his movement may resume stalled talks with the government.
Traditionally Christian Ethiopia fears a hardline Muslim state on its doorstep and possible Islamist aspirations to claim its south-eastern, ethnically Somali region of Ogaden.
The Islamist-organised protest came as a group of Somali legislators urged Ethiopians to leave the country. It was the first recognition from within the Horn of Africa's interim authorities of a military incursion from Addis Ababa.
Somalia has been plagued by conflict and without central rule since the 1991 overthrow of a military dictator. The Islamists have exploited deep-seated anti-Ethiopian feelings to rally support among the 10 million population.