MOGADISHU, 12 June 2006 — After a week-long lull in fighting in the Somali capital, war-weary residents cautiously ventured out yesterday onto the city streets, amid further saber-rattling by the Islamic courts and warlords’ alliance.

Even with the near-complete control of Mogadishu by the Islamic courts, which routed fighters of a US-backed warlord alliance today, residents said a fresh battle was imminent as the two sides would not tolerate each other for long and were bolstering their defenses.

“Justice and injustice cannot stay in the same place,” said Mohamed Amin Yasin, a supporter of the capital’s Joint Islamic Courts (JIC). “That is what has prolonged the civil strife since 1991.” Still, Mogadishu residents went about their business as some called on the Islamic courts to rout the warlords from their hideout in the northern Karan district.

On Saturday the chairman of the capital’s Islamic tribunal, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, called on the alliance members to surrender peacefully. The warlords immediately dismissed the call, saying Ahmed represented only a minority.

But hard-line elders renewed the order yesterday, vowing to evict the warlords from their hideout.

“If the warlords refuse to surrender, that would lead to a renewed fighting. Even the most foolish person understands that,” said Hassan Jumale, an elder allied to the Islamic courts.

“The courts have a plan for Somalia and will not stop until they fulfill that dream. God know if we will be successful but that is a plan which led us to fight the warlords backed by the world’s only superpower,” Jumale told AFP from southern Mogadishu.

At least three of the warlords and members of the US-funded Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT) are holed up in the Karan district, where they are protected by the powerful Abgal subclan.

Despite losing substantial control of Mogadishu, the warlords have rejected the authority of the Islamic courts and threatened to resist any attempt to dislodge them. Observers of the situation have said the alliance is planning new attacks.

The city stirred with palpable fear, but residents said they had to continue carrying on with their daily activities.

“If you stay at your home nobody will feed your children,” said Ahmed Abdurahman, a shop owner in the capital. “You have to do business as usual despite the threats of stray bullets.” Last week, the Islamists seized control of most of Mogadishu, sparking fears of a Taleban-like takeover, with the forcible imposition of Shariah law.

They wrenched control of the capital from the ARPTC, which was founded in February with US support to curb the growing influence of the courts. Washington, which has never confirmed or denied its support for the warlords, said it would “reserve judgment” on the Islamists victory after four months of fighting that claimed some 350 lives and wounded more than 2,000 others.

On Friday, it announced the formation of a “Somalia Contact Group” that, together with other interested countries, will “promote concerted action and coordination to support” the largely powerless transitional Somali government.