Islamists holding much of the lawless Somali capital declared war on "infidels" as a battered US-backed warlord alliance which they have been fighting girded for new clashes.
With the two sides locked in a tense standoff outside the alliance's last remaining stronghold north of the city, and holdout warlords refusing to accept Islamic control of Mogadishu, elders frantically appealed for peace.
Mogadishu's most senior Muslim cleric, Sheikh Nur Barud, called on Somalis to crush secular resistance to the imposition of Sharia law and to reject warlord efforts to garner support by appealing to clan and tribal loyalties. "This fighting is between those who support Islam, and godless invaders and those who support them," Barud said.
US President George W. Bush expressed concern about the fall of most of Mogadishu to Islamist forces a day earlier and said Washington would ensure Somalia did not become a haven for terrorists. The chairman of Mogadishu's Islamic court union, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, warned that US intervention would face a disaster similar to a botched 1993 operation that left 18 US servicemen and 300 Somalis dead.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060607/ts_afp/somaliaunrest_060607195045