Deadly Mogadishu clashes as Somali security forces split over forced evictions

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Heavy fighting erupted in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, on Wednesday after rival factions within the country’s security forces clashed over attempts by authorities to demolish a densely populated neighbourhood whose residents say they legally own their land and refuse to be displaced.

The violence broke out in Warlaliska, a neighbourhood in Daynile district in southern Mogadishu that is home to thousands of low-income families, many of whom depend on daily earnings from Bakaro market and other nearby commercial centres in the capital.

According to residents and local media reports, one faction of the security forces sided with locals opposing the planned demolitions, while another faction supported a government-led operation to forcibly evict residents and bulldoze homes.

Witnesses said heavily armed forces entered the area with bulldozers and attempted to demolish houses while some occupants were still inside and refusing orders to leave, triggering intense gun battles that echoed across Mogadishu throughout the evening.

Residents reported sustained exchanges of gunfire involving heavy weapons, while loud explosions from rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) were heard far beyond the immediate battle zone. Some explosions reportedly struck areas located away from the frontline of the clashes.

Videos circulating on social media appeared to show Somali security forces dispatching reinforcements, including military vehicles and BMP armoured personnel carriers, to support the operation.

Residents condemned the deployment of heavy military hardware inside a densely populated civilian area, saying the scale of force used demonstrated “no mercy” towards civilians and risked causing significant casualties.

Local media reports suggested that residents and the allied security faction opposing the evictions destroyed at least two military vehicles during the fighting before clashes subsided later in the night.

Images shared online showed children among those killed in the violence, although the total number of casualties remained unclear by late Wednesday.

Local elders told media outlets that many people were feared dead, with some bodies reportedly still trapped inside homes because continued insecurity prevented rescue efforts. Others injured in the clashes were unable to access urgent medical treatment after roads leading to the neighbourhood were sealed off during the operation.

Federal MPs representing Daynile district visited the area late on Wednesday night to meet community elders and affected residents.

The lawmakers accused President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of targeting their clan in what they described as a “pure hatred campaign” and urged him to halt plans to demolish homes and evict residents from parts of the district.

The violence came only hours after the opposition announced plans for mass protests across Mogadishu on 10 May, the same day President Mohamud is scheduled to hold talks aimed at resolving escalating tensions over Somalia’s electoral process.

The opposition said the demonstrations would be peaceful and focused on “land grabs” and the displacement of civilians by the federal government. Opposition leaders urged residents to participate “en masse” and exercise what they described as their constitutional right to protest without fear.

They also warned security forces against using violence against demonstrators, saying any abuses committed during the protests could result in future accountability.

However, security officials warned residents against participating in the planned demonstrations and threatened action against anyone attempting to organise protests.

Former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed strongly condemned what he described as a “heinous attack” on residents of Warlaliska, calling the operation a criminal act that required accountability, including from President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, whose current term is due to expire within days.

Sharif said the incident reflected “a dangerous phase” facing the country and urged the president to refrain from what he described as abuse of state power and land seizures.

He also expressed condolences to families who lost relatives during the clashes, including the family of a three-year-old child identified as Musamil Yusuf Osman.

Sharif called on security forces to avoid “appalling actions and heinous attacks against civilians and their property” and urged officers not to carry out orders that could “pit the public against them”.

Former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire and several other opposition figures also issued statements condemning the operation and the deadly fighting that followed.

Warlaliska is considered one of the few remaining neighbourhoods in Mogadishu that had largely escaped large-scale demolitions and forced evictions which residents and opposition figures say have accelerated under President Mohamud’s administration.

Critics accuse the government of overseeing a widening campaign of displacement across the capital, alleging that nearly half a million people may have been uprooted in a city whose total population is estimated at fewer than three million.

Although authorities initially said eviction operations would target squatters illegally occupying public land, residents now claim that even individuals holding legal ownership documents are losing their homes through forced seizures allegedly benefiting wealthy businessmen connected to the president and his inner-circle.

Some residents said properties owned by their families since the Italian colonial era had been confiscated by force.

The evictions have unfolded during weeks of heavy seasonal rains that have flooded large parts of Mogadishu, leaving many displaced families without shelter as roads and neighbourhoods remain submerged.

While the federal government insists Mogadishu is becoming more stable, critics warn that the continued displacement of civilians, combined with mounting political tensions, risks fuelling wider insecurity and public anger.

Some residents and opposition figures argue that the growing grievances could drive more people to take up arms against a fragile government that continues to rely heavily on international security assistance and the protection of African Union peacekeepers.

The clashes are likely to deepen already rising political tensions ahead of the planned opposition demonstrations on 10 May, amid growing disputes over elections, governance and security in the Horn of Africa nation.

Observers warn that continued confrontations involving state security forces, opposition groups and angry local communities could further destabilise Mogadishu at a time when Somalia is also battling the persistent threat posed by the armed Islamist group Al-Shabaab.

Despite repeated government pledges to restore stability and strengthen public trust in state institutions, Wednesday’s violence has intensified fears among residents that political divisions and disputes over land ownership may trigger broader unrest in the capital in the coming weeks.

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