By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN | Associated Press

MOGADISHU – Somali insurgents appeared to be scrambling for power Saturday, taking over several police stations in the capital as Ethiopian defeated Woyanne troops who have been propping up the puppet government scramble out of the country, witnesses said.

“We have to show commitment to do our part in security, we want to help people feel secure,” Abdirahim Issa Adow, a spokesman for one wing of the insurgency, told The Associated Press after deploying troops to three of Mogadishu’s 14 police stations.

His Union of Islamic Courts is not allied to the most powerful insurgent group, al-Shabab, which has taken over most of Somalia.

The [Somali puppet] government controls only Baidoa, the seat of Parliament, and pockets of the capital, Mogadishu. There is no effective military or police force; some police bases are occupied by government forces and others are vacant. The three taken over Saturday were vacated months ago.