Clashes between Somali soldiers and insurgent fighters on Sunday killed at least 12 civilians around the capital Mogadishu's main market.

The clashes began soon after dawn when the soldiers searched homes around Bakara market for weapons.

Abdullahi Guled, a local resident says his wife has been killed in the fighting.

"My wife was killed by a mortar shell as she was cooking breakfast for our children, I am deeply shocked by her death, it is a painful experience."

A doctor said 44 civilians wounded in the clashes had been admitted to Medina hospital.

Sunday's searches go against an agreement three months ago under which the government agreed to pull out its soldiers and the merchants at the market said they would stop insurgent fighters using the market as a base.

Under the agreement the merchants were allowed to have their own private security.

In the past the merchants had complained that the soldiers had robbed them on several occasions while searching for weapons in the market.