All the parties to Somalia's conflict have violated the rules of war and are guilty of causing civilian casualties in the fight for territorial control, Human Rights Watch said Monday.

Somali government forces backed by troops of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have fought bloody battles in the capital Mogadishu with the al-Qaida-inspired Shebab rebels who want to topple the administration.

Mohamed Ibrahim fled to Ethiopia to seek relief from a harsh drought devastating his country Somalia, but misery stalked him in refuge where malnutrition recently killed his one-year-old son.

The desperate exodus by tens of thousands of Somalis to find assistance across borders has taken them to refugee settlements, where spartan living conditions, congestion and threat of disease are making survival difficult.

World Health Organization officials said Friday that famine-hit Somalia faces a cholera epidemic as dirty water and poor sanitation are leading to an increase in outbreaks of the disease.

Officials say cases of acute watery diarrhea — an important indicator of the risk of cholera — are now at 4,272 in Somalia — an 11 percent rise on last week's WHO reported figure of 3,839.

Religious-linked violence and abuse rose around the world between 2006 and 2009, with Christians and Muslims the most common targets, according to a private U.S. study released Tuesday.

"Over the three-year period studied, incidents of either government or social harassment were reported against Christians in 130 countries (66 percent) and against Muslims in 117 countries (59 percent)," said the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life study.

A Bob Marley song and the social media power of celebrities like Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Eminem may help the crisis in East Africa.

On Tuesday, the "I'm Gonna Be Your Friend" campaign was launched to raise money and awareness. About 10 million are suffering through a famine in Somalia due to a blistering drought.

Somalia's embattled government offered an open amnesty on Tuesday to Islamist Shebab fighters after the rebels made a surprise withdrawal from the famine-struck capital over the weekend.

The al-Qaida affiliated insurgents have waged a bloody war since 2007 to topple the Western-backed transitional government, which they had hemmed in to a portion of Mogadishu.

Islamist forces pulled out of many of their bases in the Somali capital of Mogadishu overnight, government and rebel spokesmen said Saturday.

"The information we are receiving is that there is a retreat from the city. This is a golden victory for the Somali people and we are committed to ensure that peace and order is restored to those areas," said government spokesman Abdirahman Omar Osman.

Gunmen opened fire killing five people on Friday as they looted food aid for thousands of starving people affected by famine in the Somali capital, officials and witnesses said.

"Five people died on the spot after militiamen opened fire to loot the food aid," said Abdikadir Mohamed, a driver.

Famine has spread to three new regions of Somalia, including the capital Mogadishu and the world's largest camp for displaced people, owing to a harsh drought ravaging the Horn of Africa, the United Nations said Wednesday.

The new areas include two sites where hundreds of thousands of Somalis have fled in desperate search of food as internally displaced people (IDP).

The top commander of U.S. special operations forces said Wednesday that Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida is bloodied and "nearing its end," but he warned the next generation of militants could keep special operations fighting for a decade to come.

Navy SEAL Adm. Eric T. Olson described the killing of bin Laden by a special operations raid on May 2 as a near-killing blow for what he called "al-Qaida 1.0," as created by bin Laden and led from his hideout in Pakistan.