At least 19 people were killed Sunday in the Somali capital of Mogadishu in renewed fighting between Islamic fighters and militiamen loyal to a warlord.

According to reports reaching here on Sunday, fighters of the Supreme Islamic Courts Council (SCIC) attacked an enclave of the rival Sa'ad clan supporting a secular warlord Adbi Awale Qaybdiid -- who lost out when the Islamic group seized control of Mogadishu in June.

At least 19 people were killed and 20 wounded in the battle during which both sides used heavy weapons, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes to escape the fierce fighting.

The SCIC has taken control of Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia since June 4, when they drove out a group of faction leaders who had controlled the city since 1991 after the fall of the Muhammad Siad Barre administration.

Authorities from the Somali interim government and those of the SCIC met on June 23 in Khartoum and agreed to mutually recognize each other and meet again on July 15 in a bid to bring stability to the war-torn country.

The Horn of Africa nation has had no effective central government since 1991 and has appealed to the international community to deploy foreign peacekeepers to enable the fledgling government stamp its authority on the Somali soil.

(Xinhua News Agency July 10, 2006 )