The United States, Somali leaders and United Nations have joined calls for a cease-fire in the Somali capital Mogadishu, following seven days of fierce fighting between rival militias.

In separate statements received here Saturday, the Speaker of the Transitional Federal Parliament of Somalia Sharrif Hassan Sheikh Adan called on the warring factions in the Somali capital to declare an immediate cease-fire, after almost a week long of fighting claimed the lives of more than 130 people and displaced thousands of non-combatants in the worst violence to grip the city in almost a decade.

"I urge the warring parties to immediately end hostilities and think about the damages they have inflicted upon the defenseless innocent women, children and other civilians who had been displaced by this barbaric action," said Adan in a statement issued in Nairobi.

The UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia, Ghanim Alnajjar, also backed calls for an end to the fighting, highlighting that "in situations like these, most of the victims are civilians who are caught in the crossfire, some of which are children."

"I appeal to these militia forces to end these hostilities immediately, and I wish to remind all concerned of the need to fully respect humanitarian law during conflict and of the duty to protect the human rights of civilians at all times," said

Alnajjar, who carries out his duties on an independent voluntary basis.

More than 130 people have been killed and scores injured during the past few days in what is the second round of fighting this year in Mogadishu, following violence in March that reportedly killed 90 people.

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

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

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

While the U.S. embassy in Nairobi called on all parties to stop fighting, Washington has been accused of backing the warlords, who have fashioned themselves into an anti-terrorism alliance, fiercely fighting elements of al-Qaeda in their midst.

But in a statement issued in Nairobi, the U.S. called for the immediate end to the fierce fighting between a warlord alliance it reportedly backs and Islamic militia that has rocked the fledgling government.

"The United States notes with great concern fighting in Mogadishu that has claimed many innocent lives," Washington said in the statement.

"We call upon all parties to cease combat immediately. We urge all parties to return to the path of dialogue and reconciliation and work within the framework of the Transitional Federal Institutions," the U.S. said.

Many Somalis accuse the U.S. of backing the alliance of warlords and Washington has long viewed Somalia, without an effective central government since 1991, as a terrorist haven.

The U.S. has not confirmed or denied backing the warlords but says it would "work with responsible individuals in fighting terror."

A group of clan elders has been mediating with militia leaders to try to bring about a cease-fire but the warlords are reportedly demanding the Islamists withdraw as a precondition.

Residents have been forced to flee or hide in storm drains amid an almost constant barrage of mortar shells and gunfire.

The UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was "deeply concerned" at the increasing violence and "urges all parties to support the Transitional Federal Institutions in their effort to implement the Transitional Charter," referring to efforts to bring peace to the impoverished Horn of Africa country.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said Somalia urgently needs international attention, saying there was frustration that "the international community was insufficiently engaged in a country that needed a huge amount of assistance and where a large part of the country still needed governance to take root."

"It's a well-established fact for the last few years that U.S. counter-terrorism officials and other intelligence officials have been working through Somali partners to fight extremists," said Suliman Baldo, Director for Africa policy at the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based conflict resolution group.

"From the little we know, the U.S. is not supporting the warlords with arms, per se," Baldo said.

Instead, he added, American operatives were paying the warlords to help track down and apprehend those in Somalia suspected of being members of al-Qaeda.

On Wednesday, the UN Security Council re-established for a six- month period the mandate of the Monitoring Group on Somalia, set up to investigate the 1992 arms embargo, and the top United Nations envoy to the war-torn country appealed for all sides to end the bloody violence in the capital and "step back from the brink."

The latest report from the Monitoring Group highlighted that " arms, military material and financial support continue to flow like a river to various actors, in violation of the arms embargo," and the group identifies the Transitional Federal Government, the Mogadishu-based opposition alliance, the militant fundamentalists, the business elite, pirate groups and feuding sub-clans as "the main actors" receiving the arms.

The militia linked to the Joint Islamic Courts has recently restored order to some parts of the city by providing justice under Sharia, Islamic law but the alliance of warlords recently created the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter- Terrorism.

The courts are the only authority in parts of northern Mogadishu and mete out justice under Sharia law.

With a lack of government control, the courts have emerged as an independent power center, largely outside the clan hierarchy.

Accusing the warlords of being puppets of Washington, the Islamists have filled a gap left by the lack of government structure, winning converts to their ideology by running local schools and charities.

Somalia has been torn by factional fighting ever since the collapse of former president Muhammad Siad Barre's regime 15 years ago.

Analysts say a searing drought has also 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."

Militia leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed reportedly said the truce which was brokered late Tuesday was a response to appeals from those affected by the violence. But his opponents said the truce was called because of a lack of ammunition.

The warlords' alliance spokesman Hussein Gutale Rageh said they would only accept the cease-fire if their rivals withdrew from territory they have occupied during the fighting.

In March, over 90 people died in Mogadishu's worst battles in years, between militias 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 militias have hit a snag.

Source: Xinhua