MOGADISHU, Somalia, May 10 (UPI) -- Three days of fighting between warring factions in the Somali capital Mogadishu has killed more than 90 people, according to doctors and officials on the scene.
At least 200 people, mostly civilians, have been injured in the worst bout of violence to rock the lawless capital in years, reports the U.N. news agency.
A secular alliance of warlords has battled gunmen allied to Islamic courts for control of Mogadishu since Sunday. Residents say large-scale clashes halted Wednesday after the Islamic faction declared a unilateral cease-fire which the warlords have yet to endorse.
A spokesman for the secular alliance said the Islamists sought a break because they have exhausted ammunitions supplies; the alliance further accuses the Islamic militias of having ties to al-Qaida.
U.N. envoy for Somalia Francois Fall on Wednesday urged warlords to consider "the fear and chaos for those civilians trapped in the crossfire" and to end hostilities immediately.
"The indiscriminate use of heavy machine guns, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and artillery in and between urban areas is unacceptable," Fall said. "By taking their grievances to the streets, these armed groups have effectively unleashed a war on their own people. I appeal to leaders on both sides to step back from the brink and reconsider the damage they are inflicting on the population."
Amid sporadic gunfire Wednesday, one doctor in the capital said that 95 people have been confirmed dead since the start of fighting and another 229 people are receiving medical attention in hospitals and makeshift clinics.
Somalia has been without a functional government since 1991, when warlords ousted former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
