Somali security forces fire on protesters over delayed election

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Security forces in Somalia’s capital fired on hundreds of people protesting the delay of the country’s election on Friday as at least one explosion was reported at the international airport and armored personnel carriers blocked major streets. A protest leader said “some have died.”

The chaos in Mogadishu occurred hours after Somalia’s government and opposition leaders said gunfire erupted overnight near the presidential palace in a sharp escalation of political tensions in a country trying to rebuild after three decades of conflict.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed is under pressure as the Feb. 8 election date came and went without resolution of issues related to how the vote is conducted in the Horn of Africa nation. Some Somalis are demanding that he step down.

The unrest is ripe for exploitation by the Somalia-based al-Shabab extremist group, which has threatened to attack the polls.

The Associated Press saw wounded protesters limping or being carried into a local hospital. People went into the streets despite the government banning public gatherings this week. It cited a rise in COVID-19 cases, but critics called it an attempt to block the protest.

Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble said he was “very sorry” about what happened and said peaceful demonstrations are a constitutional right but armed ones are not.

The gunfire began shortly after a former prime minister and presidential candidate, Hassan Ali Khaire, began leading the peaceful march. Khaire asserted that shells fired against the protesters landed inside the airport grounds.

“Some have died and others were wounded,” he said, without giving details.

The U.S. Embassy in a security alert said that “according to unconfirmed reports as many as 20 people may have been killed or injured” in the early morning gunfire. It said the international airport had diverted flights.

As protesters scattered, some angry Somalis warned the president that retaliatory violence could occur.