Somalia's powerful Hawiye clan declared a truce with Ethiopian troops to end four days of fighting in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Sunday.

"With the reference to carnage, destruction, the massive displacing subjected to civilians and the property destroyed for the last few days, we decided to cease fire from 2 p.m. today, April 1, 2007, all over the capital," said a statement released by Hawiye clan elders.

The elders called on the Ethiopian government to announce ceasefire from its side. Ethiopian officials have not confirmed the deal yet.

The statement calls on the Ethiopian troops to withdraw from all the areas they entered during the fighting so that civilians could back to their homes.

Ahmed Diriye, a Hawiye clan spokesman, told a local radio that they have been contacted by Ethiopian officials offering a ceasefire and talks.

The truce appears to be largely holding but sporadic shelling and gunfire could be heard in some parts of the capital. Medical sources at Medina Hospital confirmed to Xinhua that Sunday's fighting claimed seven and wounded 12.

The ceasefire comes after an upsurge of fighting for the past four days between Hawiye clan fighters and Ethiopian and Somali government troops claimed the lives of dozens of people and wounded several hundred more in what the International Committee of the Red Cross called the worst violence since the overthrow of former ruler Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

The Ethiopian-backed transitional government, which routed Islamists in December last year, has blamed remnants of the defeated Islamist movement, who are in Mogadishu under clan protection, for almost daily attacks.

But leaders of Hawiye clan say they are behind the recent spate of attacks. They accuse President Abdullahi Yusuf of attempting to disarm their clan alone.

The Somali government has pledged to pacify the city in time for the scheduled April 16 national reconciliation congress to be held in Mogadishu.

Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former ruler Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another, throwing the country into anarchy.

The transitional government was formed in 2004 with UN help, but has little authority across the country because it has no real army or police force.

Source: Xinhua