Civilians flee Mogadishu as Somali troops and opposition-allied militias trade fire

Violence flares before protests on Thursday over president’s decision to remain in office after his term expired

Fierce clashes have taken place between government troops and militias allied with the opposition in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, damaging property and forcing some civilians to flee.

In the runup to the fighting, which started on Wednesday afternoon, opposition leaders embedded with militias set up positions in their clan strongholds the city.

Maka al-Mukarama road, the city’s main thoroughfare, turned into a battlefield, and by sunset mortar rounds were landing in densely populated civilian neighbourhoods and Bakara market, Somalia’s largest business centre.

Footage on social media showed plumes of smoke rising above the city’s skyline.

The president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, plunged Somalia into a fresh political crisis in mid-May after announcing a one-year extension of his term, which had been due to expire on 15 May. The opposition and regional leaders have rejected this and demonstrations against it are due to take place on Thursday.

The former president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who was in power from 2009 to 2012, said government forces had targeted his home, and accused Mohamud’s government of “illegally altering the constitution”. “The government forces encircled and attacked my house. I am never scared of their aggressive attack, I will fight back,” he said in a video on his Facebook account posted overnight.

In a post on X, the former prime minister Hassan Ali Khaire accused government troops of using heavy weapons, including anti-tank weapons and drones, in a densely populated area. Khaire said the government had directed “a sustained and indiscriminate military assault” aimed at killing him and Ahmed.

The violent scenes echoed clashes in 2021, when an election date lapsed without a vote occurring.

“I haven’t seen this kind of fighting in five years,” said Kowsar Abdi Ibrahim, who lives in Mogadishu’s Howl Wadaag district. “In 2021 there was fighting as well but this is more intense than anyone expected.”

During a lull in fighting on Thursday, Ibrahim fled with her grandmother to a neighbouring district. “There are still troop movements,” she said. “So even if the gunshots stop, it doesn’t mean the fighting has ended.”

Bashir Mohamed said he had left his home in the Howl Wadaag district. “You don’t know who is who,” he said. “Both sides are wearing military attire and the violence can pick back up any time.”

Police said they were conducting a “large-scale security operation” against “heavily armed militias who launched mortar attacks on some neighbourhoods of the capital”.

Somalia has endured conflict and clan battles with no strong central government since the autocratic ruler Mohamed Siad Barre fell in 1991. The country has also been grappling with a nearly two-decade-long insurgency led by the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabaab group.

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said the latest violence had caused deaths, injured civilians, and damaged critical infrastructure. “The secretary general strongly condemns all acts of violence and incitement to violence undertaken for political advantage,” his office said in a statement. Guterres called on all parties to exercise restraint, protect civilians and resolve political differences through dialogue.

The UK embassy in Mogadishu also called on “all parties to exercise restraint and engage in inclusive, constructive dialogue to resolve tensions peacefully”, while the US diplomatic mission said the “reckless” violence posed a threat to the Somalia’s unity and future.