According to witnesses and journalists in Mogadishu, neighborhoods in the Somali capital were deserted on Sunday, a day after 17 civilians were brutally killed in the wake of intense fighting between Ethiopian-backed Somali troops and Islamic insurgents.

Witnesses in Mogadishu's al-Baraka neighborhood said the dead included women and both elderly and young children under 10 years old.

They said all 17 killed were non-combatants, and blamed the deaths on Ethiopian troops, who are backing interim Somali forces in an attempt to quell an Islamist-led insurgency.

CNN has been unable to reach the Ethiopian military or members of the Somali transitional government for their response.

Residents in Mogadishu accuse the Ethiopian forces of targeting civilians in revenge for the killings of its troops.

Witnesses and journalists in the city also say Ethiopian and Somali forces are indiscriminately shooting at anyone, fearing no consequences from the weak government in Mogadishu.

Bakara market, Mogadishu's largest public market, remained all but deserted Sunday a day after the Ethiopian-backed Somali forces occupied the streets surrounding the bazaar.

The Somali forces scared off traders after firing shots in the air, witnesses said.

The situation had calmed by Sunday, but there were reports of sporadic fighting.

Up to 100,000 people have abandoned the capital in the last two weeks, according to United Nations estimates.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned Friday of a growing humanitarian crisis in Somalia and said 1.5 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance, a rise of 50 percent since the start of the year.

According to witnesses, the 17 bodies found Saturday in al-Baraka had bullet wounds to the head and chest. Some were heavily bruised and appeared to have been beaten and had their hands tied together, witnesses said.