UN says Somali fleeing violence in Mogadishu.

Mugadishu, Monday, July 23, 2007 Simba Radio

Somalis are still streaming out of the capital Mogadishu , with the amount of those fleeing outnumbering the ones returning, the UN's refugee agency said on Monday, as daily attacks continue to convulse the city of 1 million.

Up to 400 000 people fled bloody clashes between February and May creating what the UN called a looming humanitarian catastrophe, but only 125,000 of them have returned, the UNHCR said.

In June and July, 20 000 people returned to Mogadishu but nearly 21 000 people left. Some 10 000 people fled the city in the last week, the UN said.

"At any moment, a tragedy might happen to you," UNHCR quoted a local aid worker as saying. "Even at night there is no respite as despite the curfew, you can hear automatic gun fire as well as explosions."