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 MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - The Islamic movement that controls the capital and most of Somalia's south said Monday it was ready to resume peace talks with the war-battered East African nation's weak government providing Ethiopian troops return home first.
Meanwhile, hundreds of militiamen loyal to the transitional government were massing in central town of Galkayo which the Islamic courts militia fighters were expected to try to seize as they expand territory under their control, residents and officials said.
About 300 Ethiopian troops with 15 machine-gun mounted pickup trucks also arrived, a businessman in the town said on condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals. Ethiopia denies it has troops in Somalia backing government-allied forces and says it has only a few hundred military advisers in the country.
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