Battle rages between Somali troops and 600 militants

Government troops, backed by Ethiopian soldiers,have beenfighting 600 Islamic militiamen in the southern tip of Somalia, a Somali spokesman said Thursday.

The spokesman said the government forces have surrounded the Islamic militiamen "from every direction" in the southwestern district of Badade, near the Kenyan border.

"The fighting is going on," spokesman Abdirahman Dinari told the Associated Press. "We hope they will either surrender or be killed by our troops."

In the past 10 days, government forces have launched an offensive against Islamic fighters who have controlled the capital, Mogadishu, and much of southern Somalia for more than six months.

The Islamic movement has retreated to the southern tip ofthe countryand vowed to keep fighting.

Kenya sent extra troops to the Somali frontier and closed its border, fearing an exodus of refugees and foreign fighters.

Dinari said some Islamic militants have been trying to escape by sea.

"But U.S. anti-terrorist forces have been deployed there to prevent them from escaping," he added.

Washington confirmed Wednesday that U.S. navy vessels are deployed off the Somali coast looking for al-Qaeda and allied militants trying to escape.

Dinari said the government believes foreign terrorist elements are among the Islamic militiamen fighting in Badade. A suspected militant with what is believed to be a Canadian passport was arrested at the Kenyan border Monday, the federal government has confirmed.

3,500 Islamic fighters in hiding, minister says

Earlier Thursday, Somalia's Interior Minister Hussein Aideed said there are about 3,500 Islamists hiding inMogadishuwho are "likely to destabilize the security of the city."

Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi later played down the threat and disputed the number of Islamists in hiding, although he did not offer his own estimate.

Gedi said his government will disarm Somalis by seizing large arms caches and performing house-by-house searches.

Thursday was the deadline for people in Mogadishu to surrender their arms. By Wednesday, only a handful of people had heeded Gedi's demand.

In Ethiopia, a top U.S. diplomat said that she hopes African peacekeepers will be in Somalia by the end of the month. Uganda's president has said he could supply 1,000-2,000 troops.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has pressed the international community to send in peacekeepers quickly, saying his forces cannot play that role and cannot afford to stay long.

Aideed, the Somali interior minister, said that there are about 12,000-15,000 Ethiopian troops in Somalia, and when peacekeepers arrive in the country the Ethiopians will leave.

Ethiopia has put the number much lower, at around 4,000, and said it would pull out within weeks.