Somali Salvation Forum slams Mogadishu arrests of journalists and human rights advocates
Somali Opposition Condemns Arrests of Journalist and Activists Amid Sinai Market Dispute
What happened
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A prominent Somali opposition coalition on Tuesday condemned a string of arrests tied to a long-running land dispute in Mogadishu, saying authorities had unlawfully detained a television journalist and members of a committee advocating for families displaced from the city’s Sinai Market area.
The Somali Salvation Forum, a coalition of opposition groups, said in a statement that the arrests amounted to a “clear violation” of the Provisional Federal Constitution and Islamic principles that protect free speech, property rights and the safety of citizens. The group called for the immediate release of all detainees and appealed directly to the president to intervene.
Among those reportedly arrested was journalist Khadar Abdirixiin of Himilo TV. He was detained, the Forum said, while preparing a report on grievances raised by families uprooted from the Sinai Market neighborhood. Several members of a committee set up to defend the rights of those families were also detained, including Ibrahim Abdi Gurey, Abdullahi Ali Raage and Daahir Mohamud.
Opposition leaders allege the arrests were designed to muzzle criticism over ongoing disputes surrounding evictions and the seizure of properties linked to public land reclamation projects. Officials have not publicly detailed the circumstances of the detentions. Requests for comment from government representatives were not immediately returned.
A clash between redevelopment and rights
The controversy is unfolding as the federal government pushes to reclaim public lands in Mogadishu and channel them into redevelopment projects—an effort officials say is vital to restoring state assets, modernizing the capital and boosting economic activity. Bulldozers and cranes on Mogadishu’s horizon are now familiar, and the city’s road network and public buildings have seen heavy investment in recent years, much of it backed by international partners and diaspora capital.
Yet the pace of change has inflamed tensions in neighborhoods like Sinai Market, where informal settlements and long-disputed plots collide with plans to clear, rebuild and formalize. Opposition figures accuse authorities of opaque processes and claim some reclaimed properties have ended up in private hands, fueling the perception that powerful interests are benefiting at the expense of ordinary residents. These are allegations the government has previously rejected in similar disputes, insisting that the goal is to right historical wrongs and prevent unlawful occupation of state land.
In a city that has endured three decades of conflict and displacement, property deeds are often lost or contested. Families who fled war and climate shocks—Somalia counts millions of internally displaced people—have carved out lives in places like Sinai Market, even as they remain vulnerable to sudden eviction. When those people raise their voices, journalists tend to follow. “No democracy grows without a free press,” a veteran Mogadishu editor once told me over a thermos of spiced tea in Hamar Weyne. “Sometimes, telling the story is the only protection the weak have.”
A fresh alarm for press freedom
The Somali Salvation Forum’s statement leaned heavily on that principle, arguing that arresting a journalist for covering the plight of displaced families is an affront to free expression—and a troubling signal at a time when Somalia has been seeking to strengthen rule of law and institutions. Somali reporters have long worked in one of the most dangerous environments in the world, facing threats from extremist groups, political actors and criminal networks. While targeted assassinations have declined from their peak, intimidation, arrests and legal harassment persist, according to local media watchdogs and international organizations.
The concerns resonate beyond Somalia. Across Africa’s fast-changing cities—from Nairobi to Lagos and Addis Ababa—redevelopment drives have ushered in new infrastructure and investment, but also disputes over evictions and compensation. Journalists who document those frictions often end up on the front lines of political pressure. The question, for Somalia and elsewhere, is how to balance the urgent need for urban renewal and state-building with the equally urgent need to protect civil liberties. Who gets to tell the story of a city’s rebirth—and who pays the price for it?
The people behind the headlines
Behind the acronyms and press releases are real families. Parents who say they have seen their homes razed. Shopkeepers who fear losing the only livelihood they’ve known. Youth organizers who navigate the thin line between activism and danger. And, yes, reporters who risk detention or worse to put a microphone in front of the displaced and ask them to speak for themselves.
In the Sinai Market area, those frustrations have bubbled for months. Community representatives accuse some officials and business interests of bending rules to steer valuable plots into private projects. Authorities argue they are restoring public lands for schools, hospitals and roads. Without transparent processes, independent oversight and open communication, the distrust only hardens.
What the opposition wants
The Somali Salvation Forum says it wants immediate releases, an end to what it describes as intimidation, and presidential intervention to calm the situation. It also implies a broader demand: clearer, fairer and more open procedures around land reclamation and redevelopment—ones that take into account the rights of residents, the sanctity of property, and the constitutional guarantee of free speech.
Legal experts note that even in sensitive security contexts, the constitution and Islamic jurisprudence emphasize due process and the dignity of the individual. Absent formal charges or court orders, detentions of journalists and community advocates risk eroding public trust at a time when Somalia needs it most. With a fragile security landscape and a reform agenda reliant on international support, the government’s credibility rests in part on how it resolves local disputes like Sinai Market.
What comes next
For now, the opposition coalition’s statement has thrown a fresh spotlight on a case that might otherwise have remained an inside-Mogadishu story. Watchdogs for press freedom and human rights are likely to take note, particularly if the detentions stretch on without clear legal basis. The longer the conflict simmers, the higher the chances of confrontation—and the harder it becomes to keep public confidence in the government’s redevelopment vision.
Return to the core questions: Can Mogadishu build new roads, hospitals and offices without flattening the voices of those in the way? Can the public see where reclaimed land ends up, on what terms, and for whose benefit? And can journalists do their job without fear of a knock at midnight or a van without plates idling at the corner?
Somalia’s story is a story of resilience—of people who rebuild, again and again, from the ruins. The renewal of a capital city can be a powerful chapter in that story. But the right to report on it, and the right of displaced families to be heard, are not footnotes. They are the test.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.