Somalia says order restored after two days of fighting in Mogadishu

By Faisal AliSaturday June 6, 2026

Disruption across parts of Mogadishu began easing on Friday as the fighting drew to a close. [Faisal Ali/Al Jazeera]

Mogadishu, Somalia – After more than two days of gunfire, explosions and mounting fear in Somalia’s capital, the fighting between government forces and opposition fighters has begun to subside, and the federal government says it has re-established control.

The violence broke out on Wednesday and, by Friday, the government said the districts of Abdiaziz and Hawlwadag were calm again.

“Opposition group militias have been disarmed and removed, and civilians have returned ‌to their daily lives,” the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism said in a statement.

The confrontation grew out of a dispute over whether President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the incumbent, would remain in office. He maintains that parliament legally prolonged his term, while opponents accuse him of seizing power.

It was the deadliest unrest Mogadishu has seen in years, with both sides blaming the other for setting off the violence.

For nearly two days, the capital echoed with bursts of gunfire and powerful blasts. Residential buildings close to the fighting were struck during the exchanges.

The United Nations refugee agency said at least 13 people were killed and 189 injured, and that around 12,500 households were displaced as the violence spread through densely populated neighbourhoods, leaving some residents trapped inside their homes.

Although the government says daily life has resumed, UN officials say the humanitarian toll remains acute.

The fighting began near the home of former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire in central Mogadishu before later spreading to the residence of Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a former president, in the north.

Both men have led an opposition drive demanding demonstrations and elections on schedule.

A protest planned for Thursday became a flashpoint after Khaire and Sharif insisted on holding demonstrations at locations of their choosing, with their own security teams in charge. The rally was ultimately called off because of the clashes.

The government flatly rejected the plan and warned against the march, saying security in the city was already fragile and that the move would only make matters worse.

The clashes broke out on Wednesday amid a standoff between rival forces.

Khaire struck an agreement with the government on Thursday and was escorted by government security forces back to his other home inside the protected airport compound.

Sharif remained for another day at his private residence in northern Abdiaziz, where the fighting was concentrated, until clan elders mediated an agreement to halt the violence.

After the government declared the districts cleared, Sharif’s convoy returned to the fortified zone near the airport.

‘We aren’t scared and we won’t stop’

After leaving his residence on Thursday, Khaire struck a defiant tone at a news conference alongside other leading opposition figures, saying the confrontation would not discourage him.

“We won’t stop seeking the right for an election to take place in the country, and for it to happen as soon as possible,” he told reporters. “We won’t compromise on our continuing struggle. We won’t leave it, we aren’t scared, and we won’t stop.”

The unrest also exacted a steep economic cost.

Bakara market, the country’s largest, shut its doors, and Maka al-Mukarama Road, one of the capital’s main arteries, was blocked off.

The central bank’s deputy governor estimated the losses to businesses and services at about $3.8m, while stressing that the figure was only a projection, not a final assessment.

The latest confrontation is part of a long-running dispute over how Somalia should be governed.

The country has not held a direct national election since the late 1960s; since the state was reconstituted in 2012 after collapsing in 1991, leaders have been selected by clan elders and political elites.

A similar standoff in 2021 involving former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo also turned violent.