MOGADISHU, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - Six civilians were killed and nearly a dozen wounded Wednesday in fighting that erupted in the Somali capital after government security forces launched a crackdown on insurgents, witnesses said.

The six were killed in the capital's Bakara market, one of the most volatile zones in Mogadishu where a raging insurgency has paralysed government efforts to restore stability, they said.

"They were civilians passing by the battlefield," witness Bashir Abdullahi Hassan told AFP.

Another witness Mohamed Adan said seven civilians were wounded while an AFP correspondent saw four others being taken to hospital after heavy artillery duels.

Police said the crackdown was aimed at flushing out insurgents blamed for near-daily guerrilla-style attacks on government targets in the seaside capital.

"This operation is aimed at cracking down insurgents who have been killing people in recent months, said police spokeman Abduwahid Mohamed.

Since Ethiopian and Somali troops ousted an Islamist militia that briefly controlled large parts of the country early this year, Mogadishu has seen an explosion of violence, including a surge in crime targeting civilians.

The forces and African Union peacekeepers have failed to quell the insurgency that has claimed hundreds of lives and choked off the delivery of aid to displaced civilians in and around the capital.

Somalia has lacked an effective government since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre touched off a deadly power struggle that has defied numerous attempts to restore peace.

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