Somalia’s Federal Government Reaffirms Right to Peaceful Assembly and Warns Against Violent Political Mobilization

The Federal Government of Somalia says it supports citizens’ constitutional rights to peaceful assembly, free expression, and political participation — but warns that planned actions in Mogadishu threaten to cross that line.

Peaceful protest, the government insists, is a legitimate democratic tool and will be permitted when conducted lawfully and orderly. To enable demonstrations while protecting public safety and the capital’s normal functions, authorities designated Engineer Yarisow Koonis Stadium as the appropriate venue. Organizers, however, announced 22 separate protest sites across Mogadishu, a strategy the government says appears designed to paralyze and fragment the city into clan zones rather than facilitate an orderly civic event. Officials contend this tactic risks turning political mobilization into disruptive, even violent, activity that endangers the nearly four million people who live in Mogadishu.

The Government is also seriously concerned that the announced plan for five consecutive days of demonstrations across Mogadishu, together with the manner, scale, rhetoric, and organization of the planned activities, poses grave risks to public order, civilian safety, essential services, and the normal functioning of the capital. Security reports indicate that armed elements linked to or aligned with opposition actors have positioned themselves in different parts of the city, including densely populated civilian areas, creating a serious risk of exposing innocent communities to danger and using civilian spaces as clan zones to cover for political mobilization.

The Government is further alarmed by recent public statements that appear to glorify confrontation rather than promote peaceful democratic engagement. In remarks he made, former President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed referred to the history of former warlord Sen. Abdiqeybdid surviving armed battles and reportedly assured him that he would also survive the “upcoming battle.” Such language is deeply irresponsible, inconsistent with the spirit of peaceful protest, and risks encouraging supporters to view political activity as a battlefield rather than a lawful civic exercise.

The concern of the Government is not peaceful expression. The concern is any attempt to convert lawful protest into intimidation, armed confrontation, disruption of public life, or pressure outside constitutional and democratic channels. No political group has the right to impose a multi-day paralysis on Mogadishu, endanger civilians, block essential roads, intimidate communities, or turn political disagreement into street confrontation.

The Federal Government therefore has a constitutional and legal duty to protect public order, civilian life, public and private property, critical roads, emergency access routes, and the normal functioning of the capital city. The deployment of security forces is preventive and protective in nature. Security agencies have been instructed to act with restraint, professionalism, legality, and full respect for human rights, while clearly distinguishing peaceful citizens from any individuals who may seek to incite violence, carry weapons, damage property, obstruct essential routes, or provoke confrontation.

The Government calls on all political actors to de-escalate their rhetoric, refrain from mobilizing armed supporters, respect public order requirements, and pursue political grievances through peaceful, constitutional, and institutional channels.

The Federal Government remains fully committed to protecting democratic space while safeguarding the security, rights, and daily lives of all citizens, and it calls on community leaders, civil society, and international partners to support restraint, lawful conduct, dialogue, and respect for Somalia’s constitutional order.

====END======