Warlords driven out of Mogadishu by Islamist militia are advancing back towards the Somali capital from their last stronghold of Jowhar, residents said today.
The residents said the Islamists were pulling back towards the town of Balad, which fell on Sunday and is on the road to the capital.
They said Jowhar warlords, reinforced by allies defeated in Mogadishu and Balad, had moved into positions south of the town that were previously occupied by the militia loyal to Mogadishu sharia courts.
Earlier, Islamic courts chairman Sheikh Sharif Ahmed said his forces would not push into Jowhar unless they were attacked. Scores of residents had fled Jowhar fearing an Islamist offensive. They had stopped leaving on Thursday.
The Islamic militia won control of Mogadishu on Monday from a self-styled anti-terrorism warlord coalition, widely believed to be backed by Washington, after fierce fighting that had killed 350 people since February.