The Cairo-based Arab League (AL), which groups Somalia, Wednesday called for an immediate ceasefire among the conflicting parties in Somalia and the Ethiopian forces, Egypt's official news agency MENA reported.

The 22-member AL made the appeal in a statement after an emergent meeting on the ongoing war in Somalia at the level of permanent delegates.

In the statement, the Arab delegates urged a pullout of all foreign troops from the Somali lands in preparation for the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1725, which called for dispatching an African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission to Somalia.

They also urged the UN Security Council to immediately adopt a ceasefire resolution and to work for resuming dialogue among the Somali sides to preserve the sovereignty of Somalia.

The statement called on the Somali interim government, which was said to be backed by Ethiopian forces, and the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) to resume peace talks in Sudan's capital Khartoum without any precondition.

The war between the Somali government and the UIC has lasted for about 10 days. Dozens of people were killed and tens of thousands of residents were displaced.

Somalia has been lacking an effective administration since the 1991 ouster of former ruler Mohamed Siad Barre. The UIC now controls Mogadishu and much of the rest of the war-ravaged Horn of Africa nation, while the interim government, which formed two years ago, has been unable to assert its authority over the country.

Source: Xinhua