The Ethiopian embassy, however, described the allegation that the militiamen were Ethiopian as "fiction" and said its country's militias do not cross the border .

Abshir Nur Farah, a well-known businessman and a poet who addressed the people in Mogadishu's main stadium where government officials also attended as observers, said the Somalis have never been expecting from what he called the new Ethiopia of intervening into Somalia's internal affairs militarily or politically.

"We ask the Ethiopian government to withdraw its troops from Somalia's soil and stop its supply of weapons and ammunition into Somalia," Farah said.

Speaking on the occasion, Maryiam Mohamed Jumale, chairwoman of Mogadishu's women association, appealed to the Ethiopian government to respect the neighborhood relation between the two countries and open a new chapter for the bilateral relation.

During the demonstration, hundreds of uniformed policemen and policewomen wearing the Islamic cover round their heads were seen working on the security in and around the stadium. Meanwhile, dozens of battle wagons were checking all roads leading to the stadium.

As the speeches against Ethiopia heated up, the demonstrators burnt to ashes the Ethiopian flag while poets and singers delivered anti-Ethiopian songs and poems.

The Somali border towns of Bulo Hawo, Dolow and Luq have remained cut off from the rest of Somalia for the fifth day as Ethiopian troops have reportedly silenced all communication lines there. Enditem