Jan 13 (Reuters) - Ethiopian troops supporting Somalia's Western-backed government quit their main bases in Mogadishu on Tuesday, witnesses said. Here is a timeline of events since Islamists first seized the capital, Mogadishu: June 2006 - The Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) seizes Mogadishu from U.S.-backed warlords and takes control of parts of southern Somalia. Dec. 28 - Islamists flee Mogadishu ahead of a joint Ethiopian and Somali government force which captures the city. Jan. 8, 2007 - Yusuf arrives in Mogadishu for the first time since he became president in 2004. Aug. 30 - Yusuf winds up a six-week-long peace conference, which has no visible impact on growing insurgency. Islamists and some other opposition figures boycott the talks. May 1, 2008 - U.S. air strike kills al Shabaab leader Aden Hashi Ayro. Aug. 18 - Somalia formally signs a peace deal with some opposition figures, but the pact is rejected by hardliners. Aug. 22 - Al Shabaab insurgents seize Kismayu, a strategic southern port, after fighting that killed 70 people. Aug. 25 - The U.N.'s Food Security Analysis Unit says more than 3.2 million people need humanitarian aid. Nov. 14 - Al Shabaab fighters move into Elasha town near Sinkadheer, where Ethiopian troops are based. Sinkadheer is 15 km (9 miles) southwest of Mogadishu. -- President Yusuf admits Islamist insurgents control most of the country raising the prospect his government could completely collapse. Dec. 10 - Somalia's moderate Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed returns to Mogadishu for the first time in two years. A local rights group says 16,210 civilians have been killed in fighting since then. Dec. 11 - Ethiopian Prime Minister Zenawi says that African Union peacekeepers have asked Ethiopian troops planning to leave the country to help them quit Mogadishu too. Dec. 14 - Yusuf sacks Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein, saying the government has failed to extend security to the nation. The next day parliament votes to reinstate him. Dec. 16 - Yusuf names former interior minister Mohamed Mohamud Guled as prime minister, snubbing parliament. He resigns on Dec. 24, saying he did not want to be an obstacle to peace. Dec. 29 - Yusuf resigns and says that speaker Sheikh Aden Madobe will take over as interim President. Jan. 2, 2009 - Ethiopia says it has started pulling its troops out of Somalia. Jan. 9, 2009 - The Sirius Star, a Saudi super tanker, hijacked by pirates southeast of Mombasa on Nov. 15, is released with its cargo after payment of a $3 million ransom. Jan. 11 - Fighting between the Islamist group Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca and al Shabaab militants in the central town of Gurael kills more than 20. Jan. 13 - Ethiopian troops leave their strategic main bases in Mogadishu. Others are to withdraw later.
Muslim protesters shout slogans during a demonstration in Mogadishu January 9, 2009, against Israel's attacks on Gaza. REUTERS/Abdi Guled (SOMALIA) ...
Somalia
