Thousands of displaced Somalis have started streaming back to the country's war-infested capital of Mogadishu amid uneasy calmness.

United Nations officials said over 1,000 families had returned to Mogadishu as the transitional government of Somalia urged more people to return following a decree of security in Mogadishu.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR said more than 365,000 residents of Mogadishu fled the fighting between the Ethiopian-backed transitional government troops and insurgents and clan militias.

African Union peacekeepers, who were mostly confined to the airport while Mogadishu saw some fiercest fighting in 15 years, are patrolling the capital for the first time since they arrived in March.

"As we move forward, we will be doing active patrolling, protecting government institutions and preparing an environment for a humanitarian delivery,"said Capt. Paddy Ankunda, spokesman for the AU mission in Somalia.

More than 1,500 people have been killed, most of them in the past month alone. International health agencies have warned that the escalation of violence in Somalia has left many too frightened to seek treatment for cholera.

Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Doctors without Borders in English, said there could be a "humanitarian crisis" as people flee the fighting in Mogadishu.

James Bakti, MSF's assistant medical coordinator,warned that the fighting is making things difficult for those seeking and giving treatments. "We still have cholera patients coming to the treatment center, but the number is reducing because of insecurity. And we have had deaths because people are coming late. The mortality is increasing,"said Bakti in a statement.

Residents said Wednesday was the fifth day of calmness after Ethiopian and government troops appeared to have crushed the insurgents at the weekend.

The commander of the African Union peacekeepers,Gen.Edward Wamala said there was a degree of security in Mogadishu now. But he said the fighting had left a looming humanitarian crisis, with thousands of people in need of food and water.

The Horn of African nation has witnessed an upsurge in violence since the transitional government backed by Ethiopian forces dislodged the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts from the capital and much of the country last December.

Fierce fighting resumed between Ethiopian and Somali forces and insurgents during the past week in Mogadishu, with almost 400 reported to have been killed and 700 more injured, according to experts. Nearly two-thirds of those killed and wounded are the elderly, women and children.

Source: Xinhua