Somalia:Somalia's disintegrating Islamist movement fled its last major stronghold yesterday in the face of sustained Ethiopian artillery.
Residents of the port city of Kismayo said several thousand fighters, flushed from the capital, Mogadishu, last week, simply melted away towards the Kenyan border.
Meanwhile, the Somali prime minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi, urged the international community to help restore stability to his war-ravaged nation and ordered the surrender of all guns in private hands.
He faces a huge task in attempting to unite his country behind a government that has struggled to find any support since it was set up two years ago.
Ordinary Somalis fear the collapse of the courts, which controlled a swathe of Somalia for the past six months, leaves a political vacuum that could allow the return of the country's hated warlords.
Yesterday, the remnants of the Union of Islamic Courts were believed to be heading towards Rascaabony, close to the Kenyan border, or the hilly region of Buur Gaabo.
The leaders of the courts have always insisted they were engaged in a tactical withdrawal and were preparing for a long guerrilla war.
Deputy prime minister Hussein Aideed admitted the government was now facing a tougher challenge in an area that has been compared to Tora Bora - the Afghan region where Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters have outfoxed their western pursuers.
"To clear them will take a long time. It will not be days this time, but maybe three or four months," he said.
It is almost 16 years since the collapse of Siad Barre's brutal regime. Since then the country has been plagued by drought, famine and anarchy fuelled by a plentiful supply of guns.
For six months, the courts managed to dispense law and order, open clinics and repair roads.
But at the same time they imposed a strict form of Sharia law, closing cinemas and executing criminals.
Yesterday the mood in Mogadishu was tense but calm with residents wondering what would come next. Its sandy streets emptied at night.
People say they are staying at home now as violent crime has escalated since the courts gave up the city.
The pop, pop, pop of AK-47 rifles echoed around the city as it has done every night since last Thursday when the Islamists drove south for Kismayo.
Yesterday, Mr Gedi announced a three-day amnesty for militias to hand over their weapons and called for help in maintaining order. "We would like African Union military observers and peacekeepers to come in and help us as soon as possible," he said.
The government also urged Kenya to close its northeast border and arrest any Islamists who made it across.
Some Islamist fighters may simply have dumped their uniforms and melted into the bush.
Mr Gedi said his forces would confiscate weapons held by militias and warlords at the end of the amnesty.
"If they fail to heed the orders of the government, the government will forcefully extract weapons from them," he said.
But many Somalis rely on their guns to protect their homes or businesses and say they will only give them up if their security is guaranteed.
Arabey Ma'Alim Abdulle, who runs security for part of the city's Baraaka market, said he could not do his job now without firearms.
"When the courts were here it was like the days of Siad Barre, when the security guards carried a torch and the watchman's stick. That's what I carried." Last week he pulled out the AK-47 rifle which had been hidden under his bed for the past six months.
He said he would only give it up if he was convinced the government could take over effective policing.
"If there is a guarantee then I think that I would give it up," he said.