MOGADISHU, Nov 12, 2007 (AFP) - Joint Ethiopian and Somali forces on Monday descended on the capital's main market to search for weapons in a bid to stem an escalating insurgency in the seaside metropolis, an official said.

The door-to-door search came a day after authorities shut the vast Bakara market, believed to be the hideout of Islamist-led rebels relentlessly attacking pro-government targets in recent days.

"Anybody who will be absent from his premises will be perceived to be hiding something. The operation will continue for a week," said Mogadishu mayor Mohamed Omar Habeb.

Insurgents shelled positions near the presidential palace late on Sunday, prompting artillery duels in the dangerous southern Mogadishu areas, where residents continued to stampede out. There were no reports of casualties.

According to estimates, at least 60 people, mostly civilians, were killed since Thursday in the worst clashes in Mogadishu since April, when Ethiopian troops wrested final control of the city from an Islamist militia that briefly controlled large parts of the country.

Civilians have complained of indiscriminate shooting by Ethiopian forces, who are involved in their toughest crackdown against the insurgents. But the government says its only targeting rebels.

The closure of Bakara market, a lifeline for Mogadishu dwellers, has disrupted trade in the city where violence has choked aid operations, according to residents.

Two weeks of clashes in Mogadishu had already displaced at least 90,000 people, according to the United Nations, worsening the humanitarian crisis that has blighted the nation for 16 years.

Areas just outside Mogadishu have struggled to cope with the latest influx of refugees.

The Shabelle region -- known as Somalia's breadbasket -- has suffered its worst crop in 13 years and aid agencies have warned of major food shortages that threaten the lives of thousands of children.

Relief workers have also said that the few people who stay behind in the worst-affected parts of Mogadishu are out of the relief net's reach and face dire conditions.

Bloody clan bickering and power struggles that erupted after 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre have scuppered numerous bids to stabilise the Horn of Africa nation.

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