CAIRO, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Cairo-based Arab League (AL)urged Monday for an immediate ceasefire between Ethiopian forces and Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), Egypt's MENA news agency reported.

    In a press release, the AL, of which Somalia is a member state, expressed apprehension and regret over maintaining armed clashes between the two sides at war, which has left thousands of Somalis homeless.

    It was important to spare the Somali people more instability and destruction, the pan-Arab organization said in the press release.

    Earlier on Monday, Ethiopian fighter jets bombed the international airport in Mogadishu.

    The AL, meanwhile, urged the UIC and its rival interim Somali government, which was said to be backed by Ethiopian forces, to resume peace talks.

    The talks have taken place periodically in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and are next scheduled for Dec. 15 under the auspices of the AL and the African regional organization Inter-governmental Authority on Development.

    Somalia has not had an effective central government since warlords overthrew long-time dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991and then turned on each other.

    The UIC now controls the Somali capital Mogadishu and much of the rest of the war-ravaged Horn of Africa nation, while the interim government, which formed two years ago, has been unable to assert its authority over the country.