MOGADISHU, Somalia, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Somali Prime Minister Nor Hassan Hussein thanked Ethiopia in a farewell ceremony for the departing foreign troops in Mogadishu Tuesday, observers said.
In a gathering at the presidential palace, Hussein cited the Ethiopians for their sacrifices in Somalia and called for the Somali people to work for peace and stability, the Shabelle Media Network reported.
The deeply unpopular occupying Ethiopian troops have handed over security of the country over to a Somali joint force made up of government security officials and Islamic militiamen under a power-sharing deal between the government and some Islamists last year, the news service said.
Observers said Mogadishu residents gathered at the empty Ethiopian military bases Tuesday, singing and dancing to celebrate the troops' return home.
