Ethiopia to withdraw from Somalia by end of year(AP)

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Ethiopia announced Friday that it will withdraw its forces from Somalia by the end of the year, leaving this country's weak and fractured government to face an increasingly powerful Islamic insurgency.
Ethiopia — the region's military powerhouse — has sent thousands of troops to support Somalia's U.N.-backed government, which has failed to assert control over the country. The decision adds urgency to the Somali government's long-standing request for international peacekeepers to deploy here.