(KUNA) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Friday that the latest flare-up in fighting this week in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, has sparked a fresh exodus of an estimated 7, 000 people rushing to escape violence that has killed a substantial number of civilians and reportedly wounded some 200, including women and children. UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond told reporters that the exodus from the war-ravaged city further aggravates the situation in a country where over 1 million people are already internally displaced. He noted that some 700,000 of them fled Mogadishu last year alone. Redmond added that the latest violence also prevents the internally displaced living in areas surrounding the city from returning to their homes. Many of those fleeing the capital have sought safety in the bush or on the road leading to the small town of Afgooye, 30 kms to the west, which has more than 250,000 displaced civilians already living in precarious conditions.