MOGADISHU, Dec 19, 2006 (AFP) - Somalia's powerful Islamists Tuesday said they were finalising plans to fight Ethiopian forces deployed in the lawless country as a seven-day ultimatum for Addis Ababa to pull out its troops was due to expire.

But as Islamic fighters and government troops, backed by Ethiopian forces, girded for an all-out war, the Islamists said they might not attack immediately.

"The decision to attack the Ethiopians was already reached, but we are now in the last stages of preparing for the full-scale war," top Islamic commander Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal told AFP.

"I cannot say we will start fighting today or tomorrow, but we expect a heavy war as long as Ethiopians stay inside our territory," added Bilal, who commands Islamic fighters in frontlines near the the the government seat in Baidoa, about 250 kilometres (155 miles) northwest of the capital Mogadishu.

"I have heard about people saying the Islamic courts have halted their plan for jihad, this is baseless statement, we shall never renege on our promise to fight Ethiopian invaders," he explained.

Government officials could not be reached for comment, but Information Minister Ali Jama told AFP Monday that government forces were on alert, although a conflict could still be avoided through dialogue.

Over the weekend, top Islamist official, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, said the movement was prepared for "dialogue" with Ethiopia.

The government has toned down its objection to peace talks with the Islamists, who control swathes of southern and central Somalia, but said its rival's sabre rattling was making a search for dialogue impossible.

The Islamists, who are accused of links to Al-Qeada, have already declared a holy war on Ethiopian forces and claimed first blood in recent skirmishes with Addis Ababa troops.

Ethiopia has sent several hundred military trainers and advisers to help the Somali government, but denies widespread reports it has deployed thousands of combat troops to Somalia to forestall a feared Islamist advance towards Baidoa.

Analysts have warned that an all-out war in Somalia would engulf the whole region, drawing in Ethiopia's arch-foe Eritrea, as both countries are accused of fighting a proxy war in the lawless African nation.

Somalia has lacked an effective administration since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and the two-year-old government has failed to exert control across the impoverished nation of 10 million people.

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