Somali Islamic Fighters Flee Toward Kenya

Gedi, the prime minister, continued to meet with clan and religious leaders in the battle-scarred capital of Mogadishu on Monday, as he attempts to establish a viable government in a country of warring clans and sub-clans that has been without any central authority for more than 15 years.

The transitional government was cobbled together more than two years ago in a series of negotiations in Kenya. Regional diplomats contend that even more than the government's leaders, its institutions and structure, designed to include Somalia's complex clan interests, represent the best hope for establishing a viable central government in the country.

The Council of Islamic Courts, which began as a group of local clerics, had come to power in June even as the transitional government was taking hold, and a power struggle ensued.

Ordinary Somalis, who tend to be moderate in their religious views, generally embraced the Islamic movement, following years of thuggish rule by warlords who set up roadblocks, extorted bribes and generally terrorized the population.

But Meles, the Ethiopian prime minister, was uncomfortable with the prospect of an unfriendly government on his border and backed the transitional government. According to the United Nations, Ethiopia had thousands of troops inside Somalia for months before the recent offensive, protecting the nascent government. The government has denied the claim.

In a resolution authorizing military action, the Ethiopian government accused the Islamic movement of supporting ethnic Somali secessionist groups inside Ethiopia, a charge the movement denied.

Both Ethiopia and the United States accused the Islamic leaders of close collaboration with al-Qaeda, a claim that many regional analysts said was exaggerated. For their part, the Islamic leaders had declared holy war on Ethiopian troops.

During the exchange of rhetoric, the Islamic movement managed to get the capital's main airport and port running after years of closure by clan fighting, and established efficient systems of administration that must now be replaced by the transitional government.

In Kismaayo on Monday, the vast challenges were immediately evident, as the port city drifted into the sort of chaos that has long defined Somalia. Local clan militias snatched up weapons left behind by the Islamic fighters and went on a looting spree.

Meanwhile, Somalia's ports and airports remained closed on Monday, and the price of food and other necessities of daily life began to skyrocket. In Mogadishu, some businessmen were growing impatient.

"There are no commercial flights, no commercial vessels can come in," said one Somali businessman who did not want to be identified because of the precarious political situation. "People are asking why don't they open the ports. The food prices are going high."