London BBC World Service “African News” program (in English) — 0730 GMT

The rebel group fighting Somali Government forces for control of the capital, Mogadishu, has responded to a call for a cease-fire by President Siad Barre.

A spokesman for the United Somali Congress (USC) speaking from Rome, said it would not agree to a truce until President Siad Barre left the country, but it might consider a temporary lull in the fighting. Several hundred people are thought to have been killed in the fighting in Mogadishu since Sunday.

A report on Radio Mogadishu said there has been a state of anarchy in the capital with people fleeing from one part of the city to another, and some facing starvation.

As more countries prepare to fly their nationals out of the country, the United States has ordered the immediate evacuation of its embassy. An American spokesman said it was impossible to say which side had control in any part of Mogadishu.

_{FBIS-AFR-91-002, 3 Jan. 1991, p. 12}