In an unconnected incident, at least 17 people, some of them civilians, were also killed in a nearby town on Thursday in a battle between rival militia groups, one of them backed by Ethiopia, residents said.

The protests on Wednesday followed the arrest and public beating of three Somalis in the streets of Bulo Hawo town, which Ethiopia has occupied since early April in an apparent effort to secure its own border from rebel attacks.

Locals took to the streets and threw stones and sticks at the Ethiopian soldiers, who responded by firing into the air and occasionally directly at the angry mob, according to businessmen who fled the town.

Ten people were also wounded by the gunfire, while the Ethiopians arrested around 20 Somalis. Later they closed roads leading out of the town and erected roadblocks throughout Bulo Hawo, according to a short wave radio operator in a nearby village.

Ethiopia has moved troops into much of the south-western Gedo border region of Somalia this year to secure its border against attacks from rebel groups who have bases in Somalia.

It has also used Somali militias to consolidate its control on the area, but on Thursday there were reports of a setback for the Ethiopian alliance in the town of Bur Dhubo, also in Gedo.

A spokesman for the Somali National Front, which was kicked out of much of Gedo by the Ethiopians, told reporters in the Somali capital Mogadishu that the SNF had reclaimed Bur Dhubo from an Ethiopian-backed militia group.

Local residents told Reuters at least 17 people had died in fighting for the town with at least 16 others wounded, and said some of that number were civilians.

SNF spokesman Ibrahim Jama Howleh said his soldiers had killed nine enemy soldiers and suffered eight casualties.

Ethiopia says Eritrea is supporting Ethiopian rebel groups who have bases in Somalia in an extension of the two countries' 15-month border war. It also accuses Somali warlord Hussein Aideed, an ally of the Eritreans, of sheltering the rebels.

The United Somali Republic Party (USRP), which was inaugurated in Mogadishu on Friday, said in a statement released here that it would battle against "anarchists" and "warmongers."

The USRP, led by Abdi Nur Darman, 48, a Somali engineering graduate and now a US citizen, said its membership would not be based on clan affiliation but on a "commitment to the party's charter and its political agenda."

News of the establishment of the USRP was welcomed across the political spectrum, with more than 1,500 activists sending messages of support.

One of them was the Rahanwein Resistance Army (RRA) leader, Colonel Hassan Mohamed Nur Shatigudud.

"We support peaceful coexistence of the Somali people, as the RRA is for peace and cooperation. We would support any party that did not encourage war," Shatigudud told journalists by radio from the south-central town of Baidoa.

He accused south Mogadishu warlord Hussein Mohamed Aidid of being responsible for the continuation of civil strife in Somalia.

Darman, speaking by telephone from Washington, told AFP on Monday that his new party enjoyed the support of countries interested in pacifying Somalia.

Darman recently visited neighbouring Ethiopia, Djibouti and other countries to discuss an "enhanced" future plan for Somalia, party officials said here Monday.

USRP members also visited the breakaway republic of Somaliland, which declared its secession from the rest of Somalia in May 1991.

During Friday's inauguration of the party, which was attended by 500 delegates, the USRP endorsed the idea of a transitional authority in all Somali regions after consultations with members of civil society and talks with "open-minded armed factions."

But the USRP will oppose warlords who want to establish a government by use of force, party officials said.

Somalia has not had an independent political party in the last 30 years since General Mohamed Siad Barre seized power in 1969, followed by civil war resulting from his overthrow 1991.

"It would be unpleasant to see Somalia still in the middle of anarchy in the new millennium and, therefore, Somalis must overcome their differences through peaceful means," Darman said.

The Digil Salvation Army (DSA) seized control of Aw-Dhegleh after a battle on Sunday and witnesses contacted by high frequency radio reported hearing the sound of rocket propelled grenade launchers and gunfire during the battle.

The town is around 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Mogadishu, the capital of a country without central government since 1991 when clan-based militia groups overthrew dictator Siad Barre and then turned on each other.

Unconfirmed reports said five people were killed and 10 injured in the fighting, though a DSA spokesman in Mogadishu told reporters his forces lost no troops.

Aideed's forces repulsed a DSA attack on Qoryoley town in the same area late last month, and Aideed is now reported to be moving in reinforcements.

One Nairobi-based analyst said the defeat in Aw-Dhegleh represented a further setback for Aideed under intense pressure in southwestern Somalia from clan militias backed by troops from neighbouring Ethiopia.

``It seems that the Ethiopians and some Somalis are now building up a coalition of clans against Aideed,'' the analyst said.

Aideed lost control of the regional town of Baidoa in June after his forces were defeated by another militia group backed by Ethiopia, the Rahanwein Resistance Army.

Meanwhile five people including a woman were killed and 15 others wounded when militiamen loyal to Muse Sudi Yalahow opened fire on a lorry carrying goods from the Ma'an natural port to Mogadishu on Monday, witnesses said.

A gunbattle erupted when the militia fighters erected a checkpoint and attempted to tax the vehicle. There were no further details, though Mogadishu is plagued by violent disputes over access to trade and resources.