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Ethiopia troops cross into Somalia
Ethiopians want to save government; Islamists in control want them out

Thursday, July 20, 2006; Posted: 12:10 p.m. EDT (16:10 GMT)

Islamic militiamen at the Mogadishu airport on Wednesday. A top official said his forces will soon seize the base of the country's government.
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MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Residents reported hundreds of Ethiopian troops in armored vehicles patrolling the central Somali town of Baidoa on Thursday, less than a day after Islamic militants reached the outskirts of the strategic town that is home to a largely powerless U.N.-backed government.

A leader of the Islamic group controlling large parts of southern Somalia demanded that Ethiopian troops withdraw.

"We will declare Jihad if the Ethiopian government refuses to withdraw their troops from Somalia. They must withdraw as soon as possible ... We will wait for some time to see if they respect our demands," Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed told The Associated Press.

A spokesman for the Ethiopian government had said that his country would protect Somalia's transitional government from attack by the Somali Islamic militias.

Witnesses told AP that Ethiopian