MOGADISHU (Reuters) -- Somali factions battled for control of Mogadishu's main port for a third day on Friday, although witnesses reported gunfire dying down by mid-afternoon.
The private El Maan port, a trade link to the Gulf and East Africa, remained closed as gun and mortar fire raged between militias loyal to leading warlord Muse Sudi Yalahow and the forces of businessman Bashir Raghe, residents said.
Attempts by local religious leaders to broker a cease-fire overnight failed and heavy fire was heard from dawn on Friday.
At least 55 wounded were treated in Mogadishu, medical sources in the anarchic capital said. There were no immediate reports of deaths.
Residents said the afternoon was calm. But ships due to dock at the port 35km (22 miles) north of Mogadishu remained offshore. Two vessels trying to offload fuel on Thursday came under mortar and rocket fire and pulled back.
El Maan, Somalia's main maritime port since the official harbor was closed in 1995, is owned by Raghe's cousin Mohamud Omar Adan. Raghe is head of the port's export department.
The fighting has also halted flights in and out of the nearby private Cisaley airfield, local journalists said.
Radio reports from Mogadishu said thousands of people had fled their homes to escape the firing as reinforcements for both sides arrived during Friday.
The factions are using anti-aircraft guns mounted on flatbed trucks, mortars and recoilless rifles, residents said.
Elders related to Muse Sudi, one of Mogadishu's foremost warlords, issued a statement on Wednesday warning commercial operators to stay away from El Maan until what they termed a land dispute was resolved.
At least 60 people were killed and around 200 injured in fighting in southern Somalia earlier this month.
The country of seven million collapsed into lawlessness with the overthrow of military ruler Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991. Fighting between opposing warlords and famine have killed hundreds of thousands of people since then.
Senior U.N. officials warned on Friday that northern Somalis face drought after a fourth year of below-average rainfall. "This situation could develop into a full-blown disaster in the next couple of months," U.N. humanitarian coordinator.