Mogadishu Eviction Protests Turn Deadly as Political Tensions Deepen

A protest movement over government-led evictions in Mogadishu turned deadly on Sunday, intensifying an already volatile confrontation between Somalia’s federal government and opposition leaders. One civilian was killed and several others were injured in the Daynile district after security forces opened fire during demonstrations against forced evictions and alleged land grabs, according to opposition figures and local police. The protests were organised by opposition leaders under the Somali Future Council, alongside prominent political figures including former President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire. They presented the demonstrations as an act of solidarity with families displaced by recent demolitions in the capital. Khaire condemned the killing, saying civilians had been peacefully expressing their views when security forces intervened. He said several people sustained gunshot wounds and accused the government of using force against residents demanding protection from eviction. Banadir police commander Mahdi Omar Mumin confirmed that a civilian had been killed in Daynile, but framed the incident differently. He said the gathering was unauthorised and blamed what he described as irresponsible political mobilisation in the area. The rival accounts reflect a wider struggle over how the protests should be understood. For the opposition, the demonstrations are about constitutional rights, housing insecurity and alleged abuse of public land policy. For the government, they are also a security challenge, with officials warning that armed elements could exploit protests in densely populated parts of the capital. Authorities had earlier said they would allow peaceful demonstrations but directed protesters to Engineer Yarisow Stadium as the approved venue. Opposition organisers had pushed for demonstrations across multiple areas of Mogadishu, a move the government said risked paralysing the city and endangering civilians. At the centre of the dispute are demolitions carried out on land the government says belongs to the state. Officials argue that some plots were informally occupied after Somalia’s central government collapsed in 1991 and are now needed for public services, redevelopment and urban planning. Opposition figures and affected residents say the demolitions have been carried out unlawfully and without adequate protection for vulnerable families. The Banadir Regional Administration suspended the demolition policy earlier in the week, but the move has not defused public anger. The federal government has also announced a housing programme intended to resettle thousands of families living on public land, though critics remain sceptical about whether displaced residents will receive fair treatment, compensation or secure alternatives. Sunday’s killing marks the most serious escalation so far in the opposition-led campaign. It also comes at a politically sensitive moment for President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, whose four-year mandate is due to expire on May 15. Although lawmakers approved constitutional changes extending presidential terms to five years, opposition leaders and some federal member states have rejected the move, adding another layer of tension to the unrest. The result is a dangerous convergence of issues: land, displacement, policing, political legitimacy and the right to protest. What began as anger over demolitions has now become a wider test of how Somalia’s government handles dissent at a moment of deep political uncertainty.