Mogadishu, (insidesomalia.org)-Religious leaders in Mogadishu have expressed their concern about the closure of more than 30 mosques in the city and urged the residents to embark on re-opening of the mosques.

There are about 30 mosques that are closed in Mogadishu, some of them having been turned into bases for Ethiopian troops, while in some others; the neighborhoods have been deserted by residents due to the frequent fighting in the areas they are located in.

Religious leaders have asked the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia [TFG] to respect areas of worship and educational institutions urging them [the government] to facilitate the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from the sites.

The religious leaders have asked the civilians to take part in re-opening of the mosques.

Sheikh Mowlid Ahmad Nor who performs the call for prayer in the Jilu Sahaba mosque in the neighborhood of Howl Wadag has called for the re-opening of the mosques urging the TFG to remove Ethiopian troops from the mosques where they have established bases.

Ethiopian troops are said to have established themselves in some of the most famous mosques in Mogadishu.

Deserted mosques across the Somalia capital Mogadishu, which have been either closed for turned into garbage dumps by Ethiopian troops.

Home to about 10 million largely impoverished people, Somalia has lacked almost all the trappings of a functional state, such as national systems of education, healthcare and justice, for the past 16 years.

Warlords had controlled the capital of the Horn of Africa country since the 1991 overthrow of President Mohamed Siad Barre but they have been expelled by the Islamic courts union fighters.

But the Somalis started enjoying rare moments of peace and security since the Islamic Courts rose to power by capturing Mogadishu and other key areas in June from the US-backed warlords.