In Somalia, at least 20 people died on Wednesday in some of the heaviest fighting in Mogadishu since U.S.-backed Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia three months ago. Somali militants dragged the bodies of five soldiers through the streets and set them on fire. Much of the fighting has been between militant backers of the Islamic Courts Union and Ethiopian troops. There are now near daily mortar attacks and shootouts in Mogadishu. Refugee groups say tens of thousands of Somalis have fled the country in recent months. On Wednesday, the Bush administration insisted progress was being made in Somalia. This is Michael Ranneberger, U.S. ambassador to Kenya:

Michael Ranneberger: “We are trying to assist the transitional government to establish security on the ground and that reflect to both the day-to-day security as well as obviously ensuring that terrorists cannot exploit, cannot use Somalia as safe heaven. We are helping the transitional government at the same time. Part of that is obviously is to establish its authority on the ground as the legitimate government of Somalia.”