Islamic Courts fighters took control of the capital
Mogadishu in June
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The Islamist militia that has seized much
of Somalia has said it will defend the country from Ethiopian
forces it says are in the country.
An official from the Union of Islamic
Courts (UIC) told the BBC they "have no other option but to
defend ourselves".
Ethiopia supports the Somali
transition government but has denied reports that its troops are
in Somalia.
Somalia's interim prime minister has
called for help against "al-Qaeda" and
"terrorists" expansion in the country.
The foreign spokesman for the UIC,
Ibrahim Hassan Addow, told the BBC Ethiopian soldiers were
"deep inside" Somalia, violating the "territorial
integrity" of the country.
Eyewitnesses have reported that
hundreds of Ethiopian troops have crossed the border, heading for
Baidoa - the only town controlled by the internationally
recognised government.
UIC fighters captured the strategic
southern port of Kismayo on Sunday, where they fired at
demonstrators, reportedly killing three people.
Speaking after the takeover of Kismayo,
Somalia's interim Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi appealed for
aid soon for his beleaguered government.
"I would appeal to the governments
of the region to join our efforts and protect the region from the
expansion of this al-Qaeda network, these terrorists."
Running away
Mr Ghedi also said the takeover of
Kismayo had been a "violation" of a ceasefire agreed
between the UIC and the interim government.
The UIC deny having any links to al-Qaeda
and say they are bringing security to a lawless country.
Interim Prime Minister Ghedi's
government was set up in 2004
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However this was denied by Mr Addow, who
told the BBC that Kismayo residents had "driven the
administration over there out of the city" and that IUC
"went there to give them support".
The militia seized Kismayo on Sunday
without a fight, after gunmen loyal to Mr Ghedi's Defence Minister
Barre Hiraale fled the town.
Earlier this month, the African Union
agreed to a request by Somalia's transitional government to send
in a regional peacekeeping force.
Kismayo had been seen as a possible
landing point for the peacekeepers.
Thousands of people are reported to have
fled the city in recent days.
The UIC has steadily increased its hold
on Somalia since its fighters took control of the capital,
Mogadishu, in June.
Mr Ghedi's government was set up in 2004
after more than two years of talks designed to give Somalia its
first effective national government since 1991.
Source:
