MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Friday issued a strong warning against the use of vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft guns in the capital, Mogadishu, following a deadly shootout last week at a police station involving opposition leaders.
Speaking after Friday prayers at the mosque inside the presidential palace, Mohamud declared a blanket ban on such weaponized vehicles in the city, including for government officials.
“As President, I do not travel with vehicles mounted with DShK guns – and no one else will be permitted to operate such armed vehicles within Mogadishu,” he said.
The comments follow a September 25 incident in which opposition leaders were allegedly attacked by security forces while attempting to visit a police station. The confrontation led to an exchange of gunfire that left several people dead and endangered the lives of prominent former officials, including ex-president and prime ministers.
While opposition figures and independent media reports claim police opened fire as the opposition leaders sought to secure the release of an elderly supporter on bail, President Mohamud placed full responsibility on the opposition for the violence.
According to the president, the police station in question was holding a mix of criminal suspects, including Al-Shabaab operatives, thieves, and murderers. He said the arrival of opposition leaders, accompanied by heavily armed escorts posed a serious security risk.
Mohamud explained that security forces inside the station had limited options.
He said the station’s soldiers had to either flee or shut the gates, and that if they had not done so, “a catastrophe would happen.”
He praised the police for exercising restraint, claiming it spared lives.
The president’s account sharply contrasts with narratives provided by opposition leaders and independent media outlets, who insist the visit was peaceful and that the opposition leaders were met with unprovoked gunfire.
In one of his sternest public addresses to date, Mohamud also touched on the growing controversy over forced evictions and alleged land grabs in Mogadishu. He defended the government’s continued demolition campaign.
He argued that slums deserve to be demolished because they can harbor Al-Shabaab militants, obstruct the movement of emergency services, and make dignified burials impossible.
Critics have accused the president of using security and urban development as a pretext for unconstitutional land grabs. Opposition leaders claim that tens of thousands have been forcibly evicted from homes – some backed by government-issued ownership documents – with the land sold to businessmen allegedly linked to Mohamud.
In response to mounting tensions, opposition groups have pledged to organize protests in the coming weeks. However, Mohamud dismissed the grievances as coming from individuals obstructing infrastructure development.
The government has the right to make new roads in the neighborhoods, and “those whose homes are within the areas designated to be roads are those that are complaining,” he said.
Displaced residents, however, argue their homes were demolished unlawfully and without due process. Many allege the evictions are part of a broader campaign of profiteering from public land – an accusation the president has denied without offering a detailed rebuttal.
While Mohamud insisted the government’s actions are lawful and in the public interest, critics say the scale and nature of the evictions suggest otherwise.
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