Fighting in Mogadishu Over Extension of Somalia’s Presidential Term

Gun battles erupted before dawn in Mogadishu, with residents saying it was the worst violence in years. Government forces clashed with militias loyal to two of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s rivals, with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades heard in a district where both sides had been massing.

Streets were nearly empty, fighting continued into the afternoon, and some residents fled to safer neighborhoods; one mother said she no longer trusted that she could live in the country. The clashes unfolded near the homes of former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and former Prime Minister Hassan Khayre, both of which serve as bases for their private security forces.

A political analyst in Mogadishu said the violence began after government troops tried to drive Mr. Khayre’s forces out of a neighborhood near the presidential palace, and clan elders were trying to negotiate a halt to the fighting. Tensions have risen since Parliament voted in March to extend Mr.

Somalia, Mogadishu

mogadishu, somalia, hassan mohamud, sharif ahmed, hassan khayre, presidential term, parliament extension, militias, private security, mortars