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One person was killed and several others were injured on Sunday after Somali security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, demonstration organizers and local police said, reported Xinhua. The protests are part of a broader mobilization led by the Somali Future Council and other prominent opposition figures, including former President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire. Khaire said that a civilian was killed in the Daynile district during the protests. Mahdi Omar Mumin, commander of the Banadir Regional Police Commisisoner confirmed the killing, saying the victim was killed after security forces opened fire during an unauthorized gathering in the Daynile district. "An irresponsible member of parliament gathered people in an area of Daynile district, and the security forces opened fire, resulting in the death of a civilian," Mumin told journalists. The death marks the most violent escalation yet in the opposition's campaign against President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, whose four-year mandate is set to expire on May 15. "It is with profound grief that I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the killing of a civilian today in Daynile district by government forces," Khaire, who served as prime minister from 2017 to 2020, said in a public statement. He said several others sustained gunshot wounds when security forces intervened. The killing came after the government warned of "armed elements linked to or aligned with opposition actors" in densely populated parts of the city. Opposition leaders have framed the demonstrations as an expression of solidarity with residents displaced by government-led demolitions in Mogadishu, which authorities said targeted state-owned plots informally occupied by civilians after Somalia's central government collapsed in 1991. The Banadir Regional Administration suspended the policy earlier this week. Opposition leaders from the Somali Future Council have accused the government of carrying out illegal forced evictions and "land grabbing" across Mogadishu. The protesters, carrying placards denouncing the evictions, demanded that families displaced by recent demolitions be allowed to return to their homes. Authorities used armored vehicles, military trucks and stones to erect blockades on major roads, specifically sealing off routes leading to the Daljirka Dahson monument, major stadiums and the residence of opposition leader Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. The measures were intended to prevent demonstrators from reaching Engineer Yarisow Stadium, the primary venue designated by the government for rallies against forced evictions and land-related disputes. The protests coincided with the scheduled opening of a national dialogue forum convened by the president on Sunday. Tensions remain exceptionally high as the president's four-year term is set to expire in just five days. The government had earlier called for peaceful protests but accused opposition leaders of refusing to hold their rally at the designated stadium and instead calling for protests in 22 locations. "Peaceful demonstration is a legitimate democratic right, and the government has no objection to citizens expressing their views in a lawful, peaceful and orderly manner," the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism said in a statement. "To help ensure that the right to protest remains peaceful while keeping the capital safe and functioning smoothly, the government has designated Engineer Yarisow Koonis Stadium as the official venue for the demonstration," the statement said.
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