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

Government troops and militias allied with the opposition have exchanged fire in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, damaging property and forcing some civilians to flee.

The violence flared up ahead of planned protests on Thursday over president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s decision to remain in office after his term expired in May. In March, parliament backed constitutional changes that could allow Mohamud to extend his term by a year and push back an election.

The ormer 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 added that the government had directed “a sustained and indiscriminate military assault” aimed at killing him and Ahmed.

Somalia’s information and defence ministers did not pick up calls or respond to Reuters’ messages seeking comment.

Fighting began around 5pm on Wednesday and continued into Thursday morning, with thousands of government troops deployed in Mogadishu’s Howl Wadag and Abdiasis districts, where they traded fire with militias supporting opposition leaders, residents told Reuters.

In March, parliament backed constitutional changes that could allow Somalia’s president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, pictured, to extend his term by a year. Photograph: Feisal Omar/Reuters

One resident, Ahmed Ismail, told Reuters early on Thursday: “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.

“In front of our house I see a man injured and carried by hand. Civilians keep on fleeing the war, I see them walking with kids in hand and cursing the two warring groups.”

At least two armoured vehicles were burned by opposition-allied militias, Mohamud Farah, another witness, said.

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