The United Nations says at least 80 civilians have been killed and more than 100 others wounded in violence in Somalia's capital in recent weeks.

A spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says the true number of those wounded in Mogadishu is suspected to be higher. She says the recent fighting between Islamic insurgents and government forces in Mogadishu has displaced about 15,000 people. More than 300,000 people fled the capital previously.

Fighting in Somalia has intensified despite efforts by the United Nations to broker a peace agreement.

Islamist fighters are trying to topple the Somali interim government and drive out Ethiopian troops that support it.

The insurgency began in early 2007, after Ethiopian and Somali government forces pushed an Islamist movement from power in southern and central areas of the country.

More than 9,500 Somalis have died in the violence. More than a million others have been displaced in what aid agencies call one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP.