Nearly 400 people have been killed in Somalia since Thursday in what has been described as the worst fighting in the capital of Mogadishu in 15 years. Most of the fighting has been between U.S.-backed Ethiopian troops and Somali fighters allied to the Somali Council of Islamic Courts. The UN is estimating more than 47,000 people have fled Mogadishu since March 21. We speak with Salim Lone, a columnist for the Daily Nation in Kenya and a former spokesperson for the UN mission in Iraq. [includes rush transcript]

Nearly 400 civilians have been killed and over 550 wounded in fighting between insurgents and Ethiopian-backed troops in the Somali capital Mogadishu since Thursday, according to a local human rights group.

The toll, from the Elman Peace and Human Rights Organisation, was the first comprehensive count of casualties from what aid agencies are calling the worst fighting in Somalia in 15 years.

Nearly 50,000 people have fled Mogadishu in the last 10 days, according to the United Nations refugee agency. A total of 96,000 people left their homes during February and March.

Ethiopian tanks, artillery and helicopter gunships have fought against guerillas armed with machine guns, missiles and rocket-propelled grenades. The guerrilla forces comprise fighters allied to the Somali Council of Islamic Courts and clan militias who are opposed to the transitional government and the Ethiopian occupation.

A lull in fighting on Monday gave residents a chance to pull several hundred bodies from the streets. Local hospitals have been overwhelmed with casualties.

• Dr. Sheikhdon Salad Elmi, director of Madina Hospital in Mogadishu: "We don't have all our the hospital staff as many of them couldn't reach the hospital because of the war. The number of casualties we received is a small percentage compared to the real casualties in the field."

A small African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia of some twelve hundred Ugandan soldiers has failed to stem the violence. While the four days of fierce fighting subsided after a truce was negotiated on Sunday, hundreds more Ethiopian troops have been seen arriving in Mogadishu over the weekend.

• Salim Lone, a columnist for the Daily Nation in Kenya and a former spokesperson for the UN mission in Iraq.