Nairobi/Mogadishu - The last of the Ethiopian troops that have been propping up Somalia's transitional federal government for the last two years have left the Somali capital Mogadishu, reports said Thursday.

Witnesses and officials said that the Ethiopians emptied out all of their bases and quit the capital overnight.

"I can confirm there are not any Ethiopian soldiers in the capital Mogadishu," Abdifitah Ibrahim Sabriye, deputy governor of Banadir Region, told Radio Shabelle.

Ethiopian forces invaded in late 2006 to help kick out the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), a hardline Islamist regime that was in power for six months.

The invasion sparked a bloody insurgency that has killed an estimated 16,000 civilians and displaced around 1 million.

Analysts have warned that the departure of Ethiopia's 3,000 troops could lead to more anarchy in the Horn of Africa nation as Islamist insurgents and other militias struggle to seize power appear to be coming true.

Main insurgent group al-Shabaab has been battling other Islamist groups in recent weeks, leaving dozens dead.

Insurgents also attacked the Ethiopians as they left Mogadishu, Radio Shabelle said.

The Ethiopians fired shells in response, killing at least 24 and injuring 50 others.

Once Ethiopia's pull-out is complete, only government forces and an undermanned African Union force of around 3,000 troops from Uganda and Burundi will remain to hold the line.

The AU is desperately trying to scrape up more troops but the UN has ruled out sending in a peacekeeping force.

Somalia's government is also in turmoil following the resignation of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, who quit when parliament opposed his decision to sack Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein.

The Horn of Africa nation has been mired in chaos since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. (dpa)