Somali opposition fighters cordon off parts of tense capital
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MOGADISHU, April 27, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Heavily armed Somali opposition fighters held positions in parts of Mogadishu on Monday, a day after clashes with government troops erupted over the president’s bid to extend his mandate, in the country’s worst political violence in years.
Fighters used mounds of earth to barricade roads, while armed men and vehicles mounted with machine guns were stationed in opposition strongholds after the fighting that left three dead.
“Both the Somali security forces and the pro-opposition fighters have taken positions along some key roads,” witness Abdullahi Mire told AFP.
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As tensions rise in Mogadishu, residents of the Somalian capital flee their homes, fearing armed clashes will renew in their neighbourhoods.
Over the past few days, military forces opposed to President Farmajo s term extension, took over positions in Mogadishu, barricading roads along Maka al Mukarrama, a key road that is often used by the government officials.
On Sunday night, sporadic bursts of heavy gunfire rang out across the capital after fighting broke out between government forces and soldiers allied along clan lines to various opposition leaders.
They asked locals to leave the area. Armed men dressed in military uniforms, they came to us at 2.30 am local time and told us to leave and escape with our wives and children say Abdi Ali Abdi, a resident of Mogadishu.
The fragile nation has not had an effective central government since the collapse of a military regime in 1991 led to decades of civil war and lawlessness fuelled by clan conflicts.
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