United Nations: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has appealed to Somalia's neighbours, including Ethiopia, to stay out of the spiraling violence in the country as the world body's food agency suspended airdrop of food and withdrew last of its international staff in the face of increasing fighting.

Ethiopians have sent troops into Somalia to back the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) fighting against Union of Islamic Courts (UIC).

"It is essential that neighbouring governments stay out of this," said Annan, who has spoken to Ethiopia's president on the issue.

He urged the parties to resolve their differences through negotiations and stressed on the need for national reconciliation.

In Addis Ababa, representatives of the African Union (AU), the League of Arab States and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) discussed Somalia.

"IGAD has indicated that they would want to deploy troops to Somalia," the Secretary-General said, adding, "I am not sure they would be able to do it in the current climate."

On Tuesday, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, Frantois LonsTny Fall, had urged the Security Council to call on the two sides to halt the fighting immediately, not to take any further provocative actions, and resume their dialogue without preconditions.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991. The TFG and UIC were holding talks in Khartoum but the latest round, scheduled for October, was postponed over the issue of preconditions, and violence between them flared earlier this month.