Gunfire erupts in Mogadishu as Somalia's political crisis escalates

Heavy gunfire rattled central Mogadishu on June 3 after Somalia’s former prime minister, Hassan Ali Khaire, said government forces attacked him ahead of planned anti-government protests. The clash, near Dabka junction in Howl Wadaag district and close to Khaire’s home, underscored how quickly Somalia’s political dispute can spill into the capital’s streets.

AFP correspondents described panicked residents as the firefight lasted about 15 minutes and included rocket-propelled grenades. Some local reports said casualties were reported, though the exact toll was not immediately clear. The Federal Government of Somalia and opposition figures offered sharply different accounts, each accusing the other of endangering public order.

The episode is the latest sign that Somalia’s constitutional fight has moved beyond parliamentary maneuvering and into direct confrontation. Somalia’s parliament backed constitutional changes in March that could extend the president’s term by one year and delay elections. Under the revised framework, officials say President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s mandate runs until May 15, 2027, while opposition figures insist it expired on May 15, 2026.

The dispute has widened since Somalia’s federal parliament reached the end of its term on April 14 without a clear electoral roadmap. The constitutional review process, completed on March 4 after more than 14 years, was designed to move the country away from clan-based indirect voting toward direct universal suffrage. Mohamud and his allies say the new framework is meant to prepare Somalia for one-person, one-vote elections. Opponents say the changes amount to an illegitimate power grab.

The stakes are high because Somalia has lived through this before. The 2021 election crisis, when former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo stayed in office beyond his mandate, ended in violence and international condemnation. That memory hangs over Mogadishu now as opposition leaders, including Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, have taken to the streets and weekly protests have gathered force since mid-May.

The June 4 protest planned by opposition figures now carries added weight after the gunfire on June 3. Security forces may respond more aggressively, and foreign mediators from the United States and the United Kingdom may again be pushed to intervene. For Mogadishu, the confrontation raises a sharper question than a single exchange of fire: whether the city’s security gains can hold when elite political disputes turn kinetic.