Two days of street fighting between Ethiopian troops and Islamist fighters in Mogadishu left 81 civilians dead and more than 100 wounded.

The rebels, trying to bring down Somalia's shaky government, have used civilians as human shields, the head of the Mogadishu-based Elman Human Rights Group, Sudan Ali Ahmed, said as cited by CNN.

According to witnesses, large numbers of civilians have been fleeing neighborhoods in the northeastern part of the Somalian capital where the fighting has been taking place.

Ethiopian troops supporting the transitional government's soldiers ousted Islamist fighters from power in December 2006 after a decade and a half of near-anarchy.

The Islamists responded by launching a guerrilla war and receive support from Ethiopia's archenemy, Eritrea.

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