Ethiopian forces are advancing towards the Somali capital of Mogadishu, Somali envoy to Ethiopia Abdikarin Farah said on Tuesday.

They have been within 100 km of the capital Mogadishu, Farah told reporters in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Sunday evening the country's troops were forced into a war against Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts.

Somali Islamists retreated from front lines surrounding Baidoa where the government is based to the capital Mogadishu, Somali government spokesman Abdirahman Dinary said in Baidoa on Tuesday.

The government forces took back several towns, Dinary told Xinhua by telephone. He said the government troops would continue their fight against the Islamic courts. He called on the Islamists to surrender.

Source: Xinhua