Kenya ? Nearly 90,000 people have fled Somalia’s capital in recent days, a massive surge of displacements following the heaviest fighting to shake the war-battered city in months, the U.N. said Thursday.

The clashes – the worst between Islamic insurgents and Somali and allied Ethiopian troops since April – have emptied entire neighborhoods, sending 88,000 people streaming from Mogadishu over a three-day period starting Oct. 27, the world body said in a statement.

That contrasts with a previous rate of 20,000 to 25,000 people leaving each month, it said.