Civilians in Mogadishu made the most of a relative lull Saturday to flee, as Kenyan forces in southern Somalia continued their slow advance against Shebab fighters.
In the Kenyan capital Nairobi meanwhile, the authorities had tightened security following threats from the Shebab of reprisal attacks.
The Somali capital was relatively quiet Saturday after two days of intense clashes between the African Union (AMISOM) forces backing the Somali government and Shebab fighters.
But there were sporadic clashes in Bakara market and in the Deynile district, AMISOM sources reported, as the Shebab tried to retake positions lost in the recent fighting.
"The Shebab attacked our men several times during the night but were pushed back," one senior officer told AFP Saturday, adding that his men had found the bodies of five Shebab fighters killed overnight.
A Burundian officer within the AMISOM force confirmed the clashes overnight.
"Deynile district is empty," one local resident, Ibrahim Deynile, told AFP.
"There is no fighting but you can still hear random machine gun fire and hundreds of people are streaming out of town with their children on their backs.
And Ahmed Soyal, a Somali government security official, said: "There was heavy fighting last night but the situation is calm this morning."
The latest fighting in Deynile started before dawn on Thursday when AMISOM troops started trying to flush out pockets of Shebab fighters.
A Burundian officer with the AMISOM force on Saturday denied Shebab claims that they had lost 70 men in clashes two days earlier with the Shebab -- but conceded they had lost more than the six they officially admitted to.
A Burundian officer, who asked not to be named, said "some 30" men had been lost during Thursday's ambush in the Deynile district.
"Our men wanted to occupy a zone the Shebab had pulled out of. They advanced without cover and fell into a trap," he told AFP.
The Shebab cut off them off "and massacred them", he added.
In Nairobi meanwhile, army spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir confirmed reports that Kenyan forces in the south of Somalia had taken the Ras Kamboni, which lies almost on the border between the two countries.
Advanced parties meanwhile had moved as far as Oddo, some 25 kilometres (16 miles) further north, he added.
"We are looking at moving towards Kismayo," from the Shebab. The port city further up the Somali coast is some 250 kilometres from Kenya's border. But Chirchir would not say when they hoped to capture the city.
Another parts of the Kenyan contingent meanwhile were also advancing further into Somalia.
The Shebab fighters generally avoided pitched battles, preferring to fall back and use hit and run tactics against the Kenyan troops, said Chirchir.
Last week, Kenya sent troops across its border with Somalia to hunt Shebab insurgents it blames for the abductions of a British tourist, a disabled French woman who has since died in captivity and two Spanish aid workers.
Kenya has not said how many of its troops are deployed, but analysts estimate the number at between 2,000 and 3,000.
A recorded message from the Shebab's leader Mohamed Abdi Godane threatened retaliation against the Kenyans.
"The Islamic regions in Somalia are all on high alert to prepare for the open war that is our response to the incursions by some neighbouring countries who are taking part in the global Christian invasion against Somalia," he said.
It was just the latest in a series of threats directed against Kenya in recent days.
In Nairobi, were taking the Shebab warnings seriously.
The officials beefed up security in the city's central business district.
Security personnel were moving bystanders away from the Hilton hotel and carrying out identity checks on some residents who looked as if they might be Somali, an AFP reporter said.
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