The officials on Friday said that they wanted to reclaim and restore the buildings and land in the capital for public use, but they did not give details of their reconstruction plans.

"Such buildings are part of plans to reconstruct Mogadishu and we call on people to vacate the premises for the common good rather than considering their personal gains," said Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, chairman of the Islamic Courts' executive body.

He said that the courts will also not honor any title deeds issued after 1991 when warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other, resulting in anarchy and violence.

Public buildings in Mogadishu such as the national museum have been looted during the 15-year period when the capital had no effective central authority up until the Islamic militiamen seized Mogadishu in June.

During that time, residents, some of whom saw their homes destroyed, have converted such public buildings into homes and even put up iron sheets where the roofing was destroyed.

The Islamic Courts made the latest order a day after they banned the sale or use of khat, a leafy stimulant chewed by many across the Horn of Africa nation, and the main source of income for mainly women vendors whose husbands have been killed in Somalia's 15 years of anarchy and violence.

That ban lead to the first demonstration against the authority of the Islamic courts in Mogadishu since they took control in June.

After capturing the capital in June, the Islamic courts have been consolidating their control over most of southern Somalia.

Source: The Associated Press