Gun battles rock Mogadishu as Somali president's term extension sparks clashes with opposition militias

Violence erupts in the capital

Heavy fighting broke out in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, on Wednesday afternoon and continued through the night into Thursday morning. Government troops and militias loyal to the opposition traded fire in several districts, including Howlwadag and Abdiasis, with gunshots and explosions echoing across the city of about three million people. Residents reported mortar shells landing on homes, buildings set ablaze, and at least two armoured vehicles burnt. The clashes occurred near the residences of former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, both of whom command private security forces that have become centres of military power within the capital.

A mortar shell landed on my neighbour's house, injuring a mother. A big house near us is also ablaze, mortars and other weapons landed on it.

Political crisis deepens

The violence is the culmination of months of political tension following parliament's adoption of a constitutional reform in March. The changes extended presidential and legislative mandates from four to five years, a move the opposition says allows President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to remain in office for an extra year after his term expired last month. The reform also introduces universal suffrage, breaking with the indirect clan-based system that has long defined Somali politics. The opposition had called for peaceful protests on Thursday, but the massing of armed groups on both sides in strategic areas of the city led to fears of a direct confrontation.

Somalia is experiencing an open political crisis.

Accusations fly between factions

The Somali police described the operation as a large-scale security action aimed at neutralising heavily armed militias that had launched mortar attacks on neighbourhoods in the capital. Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi accused former Prime Minister Khaire of attempting a coup by engaging a militia. Khaire, in turn, said government forces had tried to kill him while he was meeting with clan elders and condemned the use of heavy weaponry meant for fighting al-Shabab against political opponents and civilians. Former President Ahmed stated that President Mohamud had ordered a sustained and indiscriminate military assault with the apparent objective of killing him.

These are weapons entrusted to the Somali state to fight Al-Shabaab, now turned against Somalia's own leaders and citizens in an unprecedented campaign of political repression and targeted killing.

Civilians caught in the crossfire

Residents described scenes of panic as people fled their homes to safer neighbourhoods. Businesses shuttered their doors, and thick clouds of smoke rose above the capital. One resident, Fartun Da'ud, a 27-year-old mother of two, expressed a loss of faith in the country's political leadership and fear for her children's safety. No official casualty figures were immediately available, though former Prime Minister Khaire referenced victims without providing a toll. Clan elders, who wield significant influence in Somali politics, were attempting to negotiate an end to the fighting.

I no longer trust that I can live in this country. No politician seems concerned about our safety.

A nation already under strain

The clashes add another layer of instability to a country that has been battling the armed group al-Shabab since 2007 and has not held a direct national election since 1969, followed by more than three decades of civil war. The fighting subsided by 9:30 a.m. local time on Thursday, according to reports, but the underlying political standoff remains unresolved.