The latest flare-up in fighting between Islamic militia and a self-styled "anti-terrorism" alliance of warlords in the Somali capital Mogadishu is reported to have claimed more than 100 lives as the city entered its fifth day of violence.

The fighting has escalated steadily since Sunday, when Islamic fighters, who have alleged ties to al-Qaida, and some Somali warlords took up strategic positions in Mogadishu.

Most victims in the recent fighting have been civilians caught in the cross-fire with nearly 200 people having been wounded.

Reports say mortar shells have been landing in the city center, as the Islamic fighters move out of their stronghold in the northern suburbs.

The fighting between the Islamic fighters and a group of warlords, which is the worst clashes for years in the Horn of Africa country, has killed some 120 people, according to Somali officials.

"Our people say they could hear the sounds of artillery shells, mortars and assault rifles everywhere in Mogadishu. We are going to issue a statement on Friday and also name the country which is backing these warlords," said Awad Ashara, a Somali lawmaker who is attending an international meeting of parliamentarians in Nairobi, capital of Kenya.

Ashara said the battle between the Islamic Court Union and the secular Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism has centered on the northern neighborhood of Sii-Sii in Mogadishu, with neither side gaining an advantage.

But two aid agencies said at least 80 people have been killed, citing a survey of two main hospitals in Mogadishu that reported to have treated 184 wounded people, including 20 women and 22 children.

In a joint statement, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Somali Red Crescent said they were increasingly concerned about the humanitarian consequences "of the intense armed clashes" in Mogadishu.

Many Somalis accuse the United States of backing the alliance of warlords but no one has hard evidence. The US has not confirmed or denied the reports but says it would "work with responsible individuals...in fighting terror." Washington has long viewed Somalia, without an effective central government since 1991, as a terrorist haven.

Last week, Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed accused the US of funding the coalition of warlords, lamenting that the support does not auger well for a country which has embarked on reconstruction after many years of anarchy.

Yusuf's sentiments were backed by a report by a United Nations committee on Wednesday which warned that an unnamed country is flouting the arms embargo on Somalia.

But the UN Security Council rejected the committee's recommendations for targeted sanctions and tighter controls on the illegal flow of weapons into Somalia, where guns are openly sold in markets.

Ashara said hundreds of families have been displaced by the fighting and sought refuge in other parts of the city, while others have left the city altogether.

On Wednesday, the United Nations top envoy for Somalia appealed for calm in Mogadishu, urging for an end to hostilities as the city entered its fourth day of violence between heavily armed militia forces.

In a statement issued in Nairobi, the UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall called on leaders to work together and exercise restrain as fighting subsided following a cease-fire declared by an Islamic militia in Somali's capital.

"I am deeply disturbed by the daily reports of civilian deaths and injuries and of families fleeing for their lives," said Fall.

"I appeal to leaders on both sides to step back from the brink and reconsider the damage they are inflicting on the population. The indiscriminate use of heavy machine guns, mortars, rocket- propelled grenades and artillery in and between urban areas is unacceptable," Fall said.

The UN envoy said that elsewhere in the country peaceful initiatives have given hope that Somalia can extricate itself from more than a decade of civil war.

"For the first time in 15 years, we have a parliament in session in Baidoa, just 240 kilometers from the current center of violence, " he said.

"There is a tremendous hunger for peace throughout the country and it is difficult to overstate the importance of what is underway to secure it," he added.

Fall also noted that Somalia's Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) have been working with IGAD, the African Union and the international community to develop a National Security and Stabilization Plan.

"The continuing violence in Mogadishu is a reminder of the urgent need to finalize this plan. It is also a reminder of the challenges that lie ahead," the UN envoy said.

"But security is first and foremost a Somali process that demands buy-in from all the key Somali parties. The international community cannot impose peace on them," he added.

Analysts say a searing drought has exacerbated the conflict in Somalia, as it has also affected other Horn of Africa countries, although the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( OCHA) said Thursday that seasonal rains in southern Somalia have " warded off the risk of moderate famine, averting a worst-case scenario in the region."

OCHA also said that insecurity, along with other factors, was also still affecting the pace of humanitarian operations, highlighting for example that only 38 percent of an estimated 50, 000 malnourished and vulnerable children in need of assistance in southern Somalia have so far been reached.

The latest clashes are the second round of Mogadishu's most serious fighting in a decade. In March, over 100 people died in Mogadishu's worst battles in years between militia linked to the Islamic courts and those tied to the Mogadishu Anti-Terrorism Coalition, comprising most of the capital's powerful warlords.

The fighters have been observing a temporary cease-fire but efforts to secure a permanent cease-fire between rival militia have hit a snag.

Source: Xinhua