WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US State Department on Monday condemned the murder of a top United Nations envoy in Somalia as "a brutal act" aimed at silencing moderates who seek peace.

Gunmen shot and killed Osman Ali Ahmed, the head of the UN Development Program (UNDP) in Mogadishu, and wounded his brother and son as they left a mosque on Sunday in the Somali capital.

"The United States condemns the murder of Osman Ali Ahmed," State Department Sean McCormack said in a statement.

"We offer our sympathy and condolences to Ahmed's family and colleagues, and appreciate Somali and African Union medical efforts to save Ahmed's life," he said.

"Ahmed's murder, a brutal act that occurred as he, his son and brother left a mosque after prayers, highlights the determination of violent extremists to attack the right to worship and to silence moderate voices working for peace and lasting stability in Somalia," the statement said.

"The United States calls on all Somalis to work together through peaceful dialogue and compromise in the spirit of the June 9 Djibouti Agreement and to ensure the safety of all humanitarian staff in Somalia."

On June 9, the Somali government and its political opposition signed agreements, including a ceasefire scheduled to enter into force within 30 days, but Shebab militants have refused to recognize it.

Shebab militants, the armed wing of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), have been accused by Western intelligence of links with Al-Qaeda.

Instead, they have vowed to keeping fighting until Ethiopian forces pull out of Somalia, a nation that has been plagued by an uninterrupted civil war since the 1991 overthrow of president Mohamed Siad Barre.

The African Union has deployed some 2,600 peacekeepers in Mogadishu but the contingent on the ground still falls far short of the 8,000 troops pledged by the continental body and has failed to stem the violence.

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