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Luanda - The World Health Organisation (WHO)’s regional director for Africa, Luis Gomes Sambo Sunday here reiterated his call on the African governments to allocate adequate resources to the health sector, with a view to improving the interventions in the communities.

The appeal comes on a message released on the occasion of World Malaria Day, marked on April 25.

According to Gomes Sambo, the continuing efforts made by development partners is crucial to support national programmes to combat the disease.

He also assured that WHO will continue to provide guidance on appropriate policies and interventions for combat to malaria and will strengthen its technical support to the countries, in co-operation with the UN Secretary-General, the Roll Back Malaria partnership, the regional economic communities, the African Union and global initiatives for health.

The WHO regional director also acknowledges, on his message, that the burden of malaria is extremely heavy in the African region, accounting for 85 percent of cases and 90 percent of deaths from the disease worldwide.

He recalls that the victims of malaria are mainly children under the age of five and in his opinion, "this is unacceptable, since there are effective interventions that should be accessible to everyone, including people in most remote villages".

Luis Gomes Sambo stressed that over the years, African leaders have committed themselves to strengthening the prevention and monitoring interventions for the elimination of the disease, a commitment which has given some results.

For example, he said, in 2008, 31 percent of homes had insecticide-treated nets (ITN), compared to 17 percent from 2006, besides the fact that 24 percent of children aged under five used an INT.

The WHO official said that as a result of increased use of ITN, the home spraying, preventive treatment of malaria during pregnancy, ten countries in the region (Botswana, Cape Verde, Eritrea, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia) managed to reduce the cases of malaria, at least, 50 percent between 2000 and 2008.

The message ended with the recommendation of collective and co-ordinated action of all the concerned parties to ensure the application of quality health interventions.

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At least 58 people have been killed and 85 others wounded in a battle between the South Sudan army and Arab nomads of west Darfur.

The fight took place along the sensitive border between Darfur and South Sudan on Friday, said Mohammed Issa Aliou, one of the heads of the Rezeigat tribe, which is based mainly in Darfur.

"There are many members of the Rezeigat tribe who are heading to the (site of the clashes) in order to help out. There are also reinforcements from the south Sudan army coming from three cities — Raja, Aweil and Wau," Aliou said.

He said that the Arab nomads were seeking water and new land for their cattle close to the border with the southern state of Western Bahr al-Ghazal.

On Saturday, the South Sudan army claimed that the attackers were not Rezeigat tribesmen but were the northern-based central government army.

"A company of 120 [Sudan People's Liberation Army] soldiers was attacked on Friday night by armed men wearing uniforms of the northern army that were heavily equipped," said Major General Kuol Deim Kuol of the former southern rebel, AFP reported.

Autonomous South Sudan is in recovery from a civil war, mainly over resources, with the north, in which around 2 million people were killed.

According to the United Nations, over 400 people have been killed across the south in revenge attacks and cattle raids in 2010.

Friday's fighting came as the people of Sudan were waiting for the results of the first multiparty elections in more than two decades on April 15.

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A bomb blast at a cafe in Adi Haro, an Ethiopian settlement close to the frontier with Eritrea, has killed at least five people and injured 20 others, local officials said.

Speaking on state television on Sunday, Mikelle Abraha, a local administrator, blamed Eritrea, which has a longer running border dispute with Ethiopia for the attack.

"It was carried out by Eritrean agents who crossed the border to sabotage the upcoming elections," Abraha said.

Ethiopia will hold general elections on May 23, the first national polls since the 2005 general election was marred by violence.

There was no immediate comment on the incident from Eritrean authorities.

Meles Zenawi, the Ethiopian prime minister, has accused some of the opposition candidates of having links with Eritrea and local armed groups allegedly supported by Asmara.

Authorities have blamed Eritrea of organising past attacks in the capital by arming the separatist Oromo Liberation Front and the Ogaden National Liberation Front, while Asmara has accused Ethiopia of supporting armed groups in its country.

About 80,000 people died in a border conflict between the two neighbours in 1998-2000, many in brutal first world war-style trench warfare.

A UN-backed boundary commission charged with demarcating the border handed the disputed town of Badme to Eritrea but Ethiopia has so far refused to implement the ruling.

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Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary-general, has called for the elimination of malaria deaths by the end of 2010 as he marks the first World Malaria Day.

Malaria remains a killer disease, with nearly one million people losing their lives every year.

Eighty five per cent of deaths are children under five years of age.

Most malaria cases occur in Africa but it nevertheless remains a global problem also affecting large parts of Asia and Latin America.

There are also cases in the Middle East and parts of Europe.

And as World Malaria Day is marked on Sunday, Ban is urging governments to ensure effective and affordable protection and treatment to all people at risk of malaria.

"Two years ago, I called for malaria prevention and treatment programmes to be made universally available to at-risk populations by the end of 2010," he said of the goal.

More than half a billion people are infected with malaria each year.

Despite this, it is preventable and treatable.

In a statement, Ban said "with commitment and resources, we can eradicate malaria and achieve all our global development objectives".

Bed nets

Ban called for more bed nets, more malaria clinics, more training for community health workers, and encouragement of research into the disease.

"This World Malaria Day brings much cause for satisfaction. In a very short time, the world has gone from simply trying to hold malaria at bay to the realistic goal of delivering effective and affordable care to all who need it," he said.

"The global campaign against malaria has shown what is possible when the international community joins forces on multiple fronts to tackle a disease that takes its heaviest toll on poor and underprivileged populations.
"But our optimism must also be leavened with caution. Malaria is a tenacious foe. To sustain current gains we must be vigilant."

Since 2000 when African leaders resolved to halve malaria deaths by this year, many plans have been developed.

One was part of World Health Organisation's guidelines released last month, advising that accurate tests should be conducted before dispensing malaria drugs.

WHO said on Friday it had added 16 more malaria diagnostic tests to its approved list to help health workers quickly identify which patients have the disease and need immediate treatment.

Around 40 per cent of the world's population is at risk of malaria, a potentially deadly disease transmitted via mosquito bites.

It kills around 860,000 people a year worldwide, most of them children in Africa.

'Major breakthrough'

"These rapid tests have been a major breakthrough in malaria control," Robert Newman, the director of WHO's Global Malaria Programme, said in a statement.

"They allow us to test people who cannot access diagnosis based on microscopy in remote, rural areas where the majority of malaria occurs."

WHO malaria guidelines call for diagnosis using either microscopy or rapid tests before treatment in all suspected malaria cases, but in 2008, only 22 per cent of suspected cases were tested in 18 of 35 African countries that reported data.

The Geneva-based WHO said wider diagnosis would allow health workers to identify which patients with fever have malaria and need drugs, and which have other causes of illness and need other treatment. It would also improve overall childhood survival, a key UN development goal.

In many parts of the world, malaria parasites have developed resistanceto a number of medicines, necessitating more stringent measures to deal with the disease, especially in rural areas.

Widespread resistance

Inappropriate use of anti-malarial drugs has contributed to widespread resistance by the malaria parasite to commonly used drugs such as chloroquine, leading to rising rates of sickness and death.

Over the past decade, a new group of antimalarials known as artemesinin-based combination therapies or ACTs, has brought new hope in the fight against the disease.

With about 250 days left to meet the 2010 target of universal insecticide-treated net (ITN) coverage for all at-risk populations and the halving of malaria cases and deaths, it is estimated that around 10 million Kenyans lack ITNs.

The US government announced on Thursday that it would focus part of its $63bn, six-year Global Health Initiative plan to accelerate efforts to fight malaria,mostly in Africa and aimed at women and children.

Previous efforts to control malaria have proved less than successful.

In 1998 the Roll Back Malaria initiative aimed to halve malaria deaths by 2010 - but halfway through the programme deaths had actually risen.

Reversing the trend of increase in malaria and other diseases is one of the UN's Millennium Development Goals, aimed at reducing poverty and improving the quality of life by 2015.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Two German hostages kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria this month were freed on Saturday, Germany's foreign minister said.

Gunmen had abducted the two men while they were at a beach in the oil-producing southeastern Abia state on April 18.

"Both our German countrymen are safe and sound and again free," Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in a statement. "They are doing well and are in safe hands in Port Harcourt."

Kidnappings for ransom are common in the Niger Delta, home to Africa's biggest oil and gas industries, with hundreds of incidents reported each year. Most victims are released unharmed after a couple of days.

KIGALI (Reuters) - Rwanda has asked a human rights researcher to leave the country, citing anomalies in her visa application, in a move the watchdog says is part of a crackdown on freedom of expression ahead of August's presidential election.

A Human Right Watch (HRW) statement on Saturday said Carina Tertsakian, its senior researcher in Rwanda, was told by immigration officials that she would not be granted a work visa.

"The immigration officials refused to put their decision in writing. They told Tertsakian that as a British national she could not exceed her 90-day legal stay in the country, which expires on April 24," the statement said.

"They alleged that there were anomalies in her visa application, specifically signatures and dates on the documents she had submitted."

Kigali's immigration department said the 90 days were for Tertsakian to address issues in her documents but they were now over.

"We were not satisfied by the explanations they gave us on the signatures. They claim that the signatures are genuine, much as we showed them the differences and they acknowledged them, so we asked her to leave," said Innocent Niyonsenga, a communications official at the immigration office.

HRW has been in Rwanda since before the 1994 genocide that killed 800,000 people.

In the last few weeks, the Rwandan government has said it was concerned about the work of rights organisations and senior officials have singled out HRW as being particularly insensitive about some of the factors that led to the genocide.

Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at HRW, told Reuters the refusal to grant a work permit was part of a crack down on freedom of expression ahead of the presidential election.

"In the last few weeks, we have seen repeated intimidation, harassment and obstruction of opposition parties, journalists and civil society in Rwanda.

"These developments take place against a backdrop of increasing intolerance of dissent and criticism in the run-up to presidential elections in August," she said.

"We are planning to appeal this decision and to continue with our work on human rights issues in Rwanda," Gagnon said.

HRW said Rwandan officials had not made any attempt to contact its headquarters or the individuals whose signatures they had queried.

Human rights groups have criticised Rwanda for planning the election without a meaningful opposition to President Paul Kagame's ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front. Emerging opposition groups say they face harassment, intimidation and legal and administrative barriers to registration .

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A majority of Kenyans would endorse a proposed new constitution in a referendum although most are unhappy about one thing or another in the draft charter, a poll published on Saturday showed.

Kenyans have been calling for a new constitution since the 1990s to replace one dating back to 1963. Guarantees of a new charter were central to a power-sharing deal in 2008 that ended weeks of violence that killed about 1,300 people after a disputed poll.

Parliament voted unanimously in favour of the draft this month but some legislators are now asking Kenyans to vote against it when it comes to the referendum to be held in late July or early August.

A total of 64 percent said they would vote Yes if a referendum on the constitution were held now and 17 percent said they were against it. The remainder were undecided, the survey by pollster Synovate said.

"Kenyans are very eager to have a new constitution," said George Waititu, Synovate's managing director. "It is one of the tools they are looking forward to, to have the country governed better."

The new legal framework would curtail sweeping presidential powers and strengthen civil liberties.

The poll showed 68 percent of potential voters were unsatisfied with at least one issue in the proposed charter.

"We are seeing a high degree of tolerance. 68 percent of potential voters have something they don't like but the majority are supporting the draft nevertheless," Waititu told reporters.

And 91 percent of the 2,003 Kenyans surveyed said it was absolutely or quite important that the country had a new constitution although 45 percent of them said they knew very little or nothing of what the draft contained.

A total of 37 percent said they had personally formed their own opinion of the new constitution; 21 percent said they had been influenced by politicians and 19 percent had been swayed by religious leaders.

Some politicians are backing a No vote, angry at the failure to devolve power to the regions and plans to cap private land holdings.

Some Christian church leaders are also spearheading a No campaign after an amendment to abolish abortion on medical grounds failed, while Islamic courts dealing with divorce and inheritance were left enshrined in the constitution.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sub-Saharan Africa is proving surprisingly resilient in emerging from the global financial crisis compared with previous downturns, the African Department Director at the International Monetary Fund said on Friday.

Just a year ago the IMF warned that Africa was to face major setbacks as the fallout spread from the global economic downturn. But the poorest countries of the region rebounded with greater strength and speed than predicted, Antoinette Sayeh told Reuters. Some economies avoided contraction all together in 2009.

Just last year, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn described the region's economies as "an innocent victim of this global financial tsunami."

Economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to double this year and further accelerate in 2011 as long as the global economy continues to improve.

Regional output is projected to expand by 4.75 percent in 2010 compared with 2 percent last year, stronger than Latin America, and Middle East and North Africa regions.

Sub-Saharan Africa's growth could reach 5.75 percent next year if global conditions advance.

"We see positive developments across the region and certainly in the context of what we have seen in response to the crisis and efforts made to sustain economic growth," Sayeh said. "We have seen good progress in most sub-Saharan African countries; that is encouraging to potential investors."

The stronger macroeconomic position and the limited integration of many countries in the region into the world economy shielded them from the global recession.

"On average, Africa did better but there were groups of countries that were hit by the crisis -- those were the most advanced, and oil exporting countries. These countries are recovering fast," she added.

The 29 smaller and more fragile countries, with a combined population of 750 million, did better than expected, "which is encouraging because those are the ones can least afford not to grow and make progress."

Africa is becoming one of the main destinations for frontier market investors looking for high growth while assuming the risk of small and sometimes volatile economies.

Sayeh said the region avoided much of the downward pressure from the crisis because of counter-cyclical economic policies pursued in many countries.

"Nearly two-thirds of countries experiencing a slowdown in 2009 were able to increase government spending to buttress economic activity. Policy interest rates were also reduced in most countries," except where this would have been harmful because of exchange rate regimes or inflationary pressures.

Republic of Congo is expected to growth the fastest, at 12.1 percent this year, while Madagascar is the only country in the region to post a contraction, with output expected to decline 1 percent.

Economic growth in middle-income and oil-exporting countries was hurt by the sharp fall in export volumes and a slump in oil prices in early 2009 as world demand collapsed.

Sayeh said there is a need to address the problems in the financial sector, mentioning Nigeria's $4 billion bailout of nine weakly-capitalized financial institutions last year.

"There has been a big effort to restructure the banking sector, and the Fund has been very involved in supporting the good efforts on the part of the government to get the financial sector resolution underway," Sayeh said.

Nigeria, the second largest economy in the region, is in the process of passing the Asset Management Company legislation, which would soak up bad bank loans.

"We expect it to be put in place in May. There has been good progress starting to roll that out in May if possible," Sayeh said.

"Going forward, it will be critical that other development partners and international financial institutions continue to support sub-Saharan African countries during the recovery," Sayeh said.

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali has put its security forces on high alert after a French tourist and his Algerian driver were seized in neighbouring Niger.

A Nigerien military officer said he believed the hostages have already been moved to Mali, where an official warned of the challenges of tracking kidnappers in the vast West African desert region.

The kidnapping late on Wednesday occurred just days after Mali, Niger, Algeria and Mauritania set up a joint command post aimed at improving regional collaboration to counter a growing threat from al Qaeda in their shared Sahara zone.

"As soon as there is a kidnapping, everyone looks towards Mali, especially the north, which everyone says is the rear base for al Qaeda," a military source close to Mali's defence minister told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"That is why ... we have alerted our security forces on the border with Niger, in case, as usual, they try and cross the border to seek refuge in Niger. But the borders are very long and the kidnappers know the terrain, which is huge."

Nigerien and diplomatic sources said the pair were seized near Tiguidan Tessoun, which is in Niger's remote north and equidistant from the border with Mali and Algeria.

A Nigerien military officer, who asked not to be named, said Niamey believed the kidnappers had already crossed the border despite Mali's efforts to cut them off.

"We think they are somewhere in the Azaouagh strip," he said, referring to a valley in Mali's remote north.

The French Foreign Ministry said on Friday it was trying to verify the incident. A French police source said the kidnapped man was 78-years-old. No group has claimed responsibility.

An increase in kidnappings of foreigners in the desert region, where a combination of bandits, former rebels and smugglers have long operated has pointed to a growing influence of groups linked to al Qaeda.

Analysts say the kidnappings are often carried out by local gunmen, who then pass hostages on to members al Qaeda's North Africa wing, which is known as AQIM.

Six Europeans were kidnapped in the region late last year. Since then, four of the hostages have been released, while two Spaniards are still being held. Last May, AQIM killed a British hostage seized in a previous round of kidnappings.

The reported payment of ransoms for hostages and the release of arrested Islamist fighters has strained relations between the regional states at a time when Western governments are seeking greater regional cooperation to curb al Qaeda activities.

Mali, in particular, has been picked out by Algeria and Mauritania for failing to crack down on Islamists who have taken advantage of vast ungoverned zones and a long tradition of smuggling to operate out of its northern area.

ABIA, Nigeria, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The police in oil rich Nigeria's Abia State has confirmed the release of the two German nationals abducted by gunmen operating in the region.

State police spokesperson Ali Okechukwu confirmed this to Xinhua on Saturday night.

The two, both male, were kidnapped on Sunday as they were heading to their vehicle at the beach at Imo River of the state.

Okechukwu said the police was not directly involved in the rescue and he was not sure any ransom was paid.

Meanwhile, a German Embassy official in Abuja also confirmed the release but she did not provide more details.

The Niger Delta is an unstable area where inter-ethnic clashes are commonplace. Access to oil revenue is the main trigger for the violence.

Over 300 foreigners have been seized in the Niger Delta since 2006. Almost all have been released unharmed after paying a ransom.

CAIRO, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak pledged on Saturday fair upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections in the country.

In his speech aired on Egypt's Nile News, Mubarak said "I reiterate my keenness for the integrity of the elections and welcome each honest effort that provides solutions for the problems of our society without gambling with its security, stability and future."

However, Mubarak did not mention whether he intends to run for next year's presidential elections or not.

The Egyptian president, who has been ruling Egypt since 1981, also referred to the active interaction of various powers in Egypt 's society, saying it is the fruit of his own initiative that was presented five years ago.

"It is the evidence of the vitality of Egyptians and a witness to the unprecedented freedom of opinion, expression and the press, " Mubarak said.

"I sincerely welcome such interaction as long as it abides by laws and the constitution and is intended to realize the interest of Egypt."

However, he warned against turning this "active interaction" into a conflict.

"This active interaction should not ever turn into confrontation or a conflict and we have to beware of such a turn," added the president.

The Egyptian parliamentary elections are due in October and the presidential elections are slated for September next year.

KHARTOUM, April 24 (Xinhua) -- 17 civilians were killed on Saturday and 11 others wounded in armed clashes between Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), the military arm of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), and Rizeigat tribe in South Darfur State in western Sudan.

"These confrontations, which took place today, came as a result of provocations by the SPLA, which infuriated members of the Rizeigat tribe at the area and pushed them to confront elements of the SPLA", Mohamed Iyssa Elaio, Chairman of Rizeigat tribe's Shura (consultation) council, told Xinhua.

The SPLA is the military wing of the former rebel SPLM, which became one of the ruling partners in Sudanese government following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005.

"The confrontations resulted in killing of around 17 civilians and injury of 11 others", Elaio added.

He said the incidents took place at Bulbula area, some 200 km south of Matariq town in the South Darfur State.

"This affirms that the SPLA is still present at areas within the borders of 1956 in northern Sudan", he said.

Elaio further said that the administrative leaders of Rizeigat tribe have informed the government more than once of the harassments by the SPLA against citizens of the area.

"The government, however, did not respond, which enraged the local citizens and pushed them to confront the SPLA, despite the fact that the citizens do not have enough weapons to face a fully equipped army," he added.

The SPLA has not yet commented on these incidents.

The South Darfur State is located on the north of the boundaries between northern and southern Sudan, and belongs to the Muslim-dominant northern Sudan.

The CPA, which had ended a two-decade civil war between northern and southern Sudan, stipulated a complete withdrawal of the SPLA from the north to the south behind the boundaries known as "the borders of 1956".

The SPLM says it has implemented that item of the agreement, but the border tribes insist that elements of the SPLM are still present inside the territories in northern Sudan.

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A rebel group has claimed responsibility for the killing of at least 18 government soldiers and injuring 20 others in a predawn attack in south Eritrea.

The attack took place early morning on Thursday in Kelay, said Yassin Mohammed, a spokesman of the Red Sea Affairs Democratic Organization (RSADO).

Yassin said a number of arms were seized during the unexpected assault, AFP reported.

In February, the same rebel group took responsibility for the killing of 17 soldiers in a joint attack with another militant group.

The Ethiopia-based group was formed in 1999 and is a member of the Eritrean Democratic Alliance.

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Five people have lost their lives in a fresh outbreak of violence in Nigeria after a protest staged by a group of Muslim youths turned to a scene of a confrontation with Christians.

Hundreds of protestors took to streets in the city of Jos, after the murder of a 17-year-old student sent shockwaves through the Muslim community in the religiously-divided Plateau State.

The protest went violent when young Christians and Muslims engaged in a knife fight, which left up to four people dead in the Dutse Uku and Miango districts.

The clashes reportedly ended with the intervention soldiers from the Special Task Force and some Muslim community leaders who rushed to the scene, urging the youths to stop the protest.

On Thursday, police unearthed eight bodies in a nearby Christian village to bring to 15 the number of bodies exhumed in three days in the area.

Plagued by frequent clashes, Plateau State is on the limit of Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north and the mainly Christian south.

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Sudanese President Umar Hassan al-Bashir is expected to win the presidential polls as his party makes gains in most of Darfur's region.

The election commission announced that Bashir's ruling National Congress Party had won governor posts in North and West Darfur with results from the south yet to be released.

Meanwhile, the ruling party in South Sudan has retained the governorship of the oil-producing Unity State, which is situated on the border between north and south Sudan and is capable of a rough output of 480,000 oil barrels per day.

In the same state, clashes between the supporters of an independent candidate and security forces have led to two deaths.

On Wednesday, the rival parties finally agreed to accept the results and accelerate the push for a conclusive peace agreement to put an end to the civil war between south and north.

The April 11th polls, described by the UN as one of the most complex elections ever held, were the country's first multi-party presidential, parliamentary and regional elections since 1986.

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Egypt has ridiculed the US and Israeli accusations that Syria is supplying Russian-made Scud missiles to the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah.

"These allegations are lies and are laughable," AFP quoted Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit as saying on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters at the beginning of an official visit to Lebanon, he added "Egypt stands by Lebanon under all conditions and in the face of all threats."

Damascus, Beirut and the resistance movement itself have likewise rejected the claims. Standing by the allegation, however, Washington and Tel Aviv have issued warning messages against Damascus.

Earlier in the month, US State Department Spokesman PJ Crowley said, "If [Scuds have been transferred into Lebanon], and we continue to analyze this issue ... clearly it potentially puts Lebanon at significant risk."

Tel Aviv has also communicated a threatening message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, alleging that Hezbollah may launch an attack on Israel using the projectiles. It said Israel would engage Syria in a war if such missile offensive materialized.

Hezbollah fought off bloody Israeli wars against Lebanon in 2000 and 2006. The second round of the offensives, known as the 33-Day War, killed about 1,200 Lebanese, most of them civilians.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri has, meanwhile, likened the arms transfer claim to US allegations about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), which Washington used as a pretext to invade the country in 2003. The WMD claim was later found to have nothing to do with the facts on the ground.

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Joint Ethiopian-Somali government forces have recaptured a small western Somali town near the border with Ethiopia, forcing out al-Shabab fighters from the area.

Days after al-Shabab captured the town of El Barde, a report broadcast by Radio Garowe announced on Friday that Ethiopian troops in armored vehicles along with Somali forces crossed into the border town.

The report came as Somali officials also confirmed the presence of Ethiopian troops in the region.

"They entered El Barde to expel al-Shabab elements from the border region and stop their advance," a Somali official said on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, al-Shabab fighters are reported to have fled to neighboring Rabdhere town.

The border town of El Barde fell into the hands of al-Shabab on Tuesday after a fierce battle with Somali soldiers which claimed the lives of at least 10.

Somalia has been without a stable central government since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre fled the country in 1991. Subsequent fighting among rival faction leaders resulted in the killing, displacement, and starvation of millions of Somalis.

According to the United Nations, between 350,000 and 1,000,000 Somalis have died since the start of the conflict.

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Amid increasing pressure on Somali Parliament Speaker Sheikh Adan Madobe to resign, he defends his position saying he will not step down from his post.

"I will not relinquish my position, am holding this high office for the people of Somalia, so I will not act on some suggestions from lawmakers who are al-Shabab sympathizers," Radio Garowe quoted Madobe as saying on Friday.

The Somali official accused his adversaries of having hidden agendas, saying they wanted to lead the country down a path of destruction and utter militancy.

More than 300 Somali lawmakers have filed an impeachment motion against Madobe.

The lawmakers met President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed at the presidential palace, Villa Somalia, on Monday, asking him to intervene in the case and save his fragile government from collapse.

The lawmakers argue that Madobe's term expired in August 2009, stressing that they would only allow him to retain his position through elections.

The call for resignation comes as the Somali president is reported to support the country's current Finance Minister Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan to fill Madobe's position.

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aljazeera

Somalia's al-Shabab group, which has vowed to topple the UN-backed government, has seized three towns in the central Galgudud region from the pro-government Ahlu Sunna movement, witnesses said.

Al-Shabab took control of the towns of El Der, Masagaway and Galad towns on Friday reportedly without any resistance from the rival group.

The three towns lie on the road linking Mogadishu, the capital, and eastern Somalia, which is considered to be al-Shabab's power base.

"We have overrun the militants who tried to stop the efforts to spread Islam in Somalia. With the power of Allah we have taken control of three districts in Galgadud region," Sheik Yusuf Kabokudukade, a senior al-Shabab official in the region, said.

"We will not stop until we take control of the whole region from the enemy of Allah," he said.

The loss of the three towns will be a blow to Ahlu Sunna and the government, which signed a deal last month to work together against al-Shabab.

'Steep price'

Al-Shabab, which the US says is affiliated to al-Qaeda, controls much of south and central Somalia, as well as large areas of Mogadishu.
US-based Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday that the group had "brought stability to some areas long plagued by violence", but that the local population was "paying a very steep price".

It accused the group's fighters of "implacable repression and brutality" in the areas unders its control.

The transitional government has little real control over the country, holding only a few parts of the capital despite assistance from an international peacekeeping force.

On Thursday, the UN special representative to Somalia said that there could be no peace for the Horn of Africa country without national reconciliation.

"Somalia will not experience stability or peace without national reconciliation," he told reporters after a meeting of the International Contact Group on Somalia, which includes representatives from the United Nations, the African Union and the Arab League.

"The essential problem in Somalia is instability rooted in the fact that every tribe or faction believes it has a right of veto, despite the existence of a government recognised by the international community and by neighbouring countries."

Amr Mussa, the secretary-general of the Arab League, urged Somalia's disparate groups not to reject the peace process, saying that their integration in the process was "without exception an essential condition for its success."

"Without comprehensive reconciliation and support for the legitimate transitional government, reconstruction efforts in Somalia are doomed to fail," he said.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991.

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Egyptian police arrested an Israeli dirt biker who illegally crossed the border on Saturday, a security official said.

The 36-year-old man, who led police on a chase after he crossed into the Sinai Peninsula, told them he entered Egypt by mistake after he was separated from his fellow bikers.

Last month, Egyptian police detained an Israeli journalist after he tried to cross the border with an African illegal migrant. The Channel 10 reporter was released a week later.

The 250-kilometre (150-mile) frontier has become a significant channel for illegal immigrants and drug smugglers, prompting Israel to ask Egypt to step up controls.

Egyptian police have killed dozens of African migrants in the past few years as they tried to enter Israel.