Violence has erupted in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, as government forces and opposition-allied militias have exchanged fire before an antigovernment protest, damaging buildings and forcing residents to flee.

Fighting began on Wednesday and continued into Thursday before planned protests against President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s decision to extend his term despite it expiring last month.

The move has also pushed back elections, sparking outrage among the opposition, who see it as Mohamud’s plan to centralise power. The government has rejected these allegations.

The opposition has called for a peaceful demonstration on Thursday.

The Associated Press news agency reported that there was a large number of people in the streets and a heavy security presence with police patrolling. Police said the violence came from “organised attacks” and linked it to political groups trying to secure power.

It is yet another political upheaval for Somalia, which has been fighting the armed group al-Shabab since 2007. Somalia last held an election in 1969 and then was riven by civil war for more than 30 years.

Gunshots and explosions were heard in several neighbourhoods in Mogadishu with resident Abdullahi Mohamed telling AP: “We heard heavy weapons fire, and people were fleeing their homes.”

Former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, who said he has been targeted by security forces, lambasted the government in a post on X, saying it is using “heavy weaponry” made for “conventional battlefield operations”.

“These are weapons entrusted to the Somali state to fight Al-Shabaab, now turned against Somalia’s own leaders and citizens in an unprecedented campaign of political repression and targeted killing,” he said.

He added that “civilian infrastructure has not been spared” and electrical supplies have been “deliberately disrupted”.

‘Mortars and weapons’

Civilians are at risk of becoming collateral in the fallout between the two warring political factions.

Ahmed Ismail, a Mogadishu resident told the Reuters news agency: “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.”

Mohamud Farah, another witness, told Reuters that two armoured vehicles were set ablaze.

There have been no official reports of casualties. Fighting subsided by 9:30am (06:30 GMT) on Thursday, according to the AFP news agency, as the government and the opposition began talks.

A security analyst who asked to remain anonymous told AFP that there are “civilian casualties in some areas”.

The African Union called for restraint, saying it was deeply concerned by clashes in residential areas. The European Union echoed this sentiment along with the US embassy in Mogadishu.

Mohamud is not the first Somali president to try to outstay his term.

Former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo stayed more than a year in office after the official end of his mandate in 2021, triggering violence and condemnation from the international community.