Opposition and government forces have been in heavy gun battles in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, as a dispute over the postponement of elections grows more intense.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s five-year tenure ended on 15 May, but was extended by one year. The opposition argued this was unconstitutional, and urged them to protest on 4th June.

Residents reported gunfire in a number of neighbourhoods in the capital, which continued into the night.

In some areas, heavily armed militias have been firing mortar rounds, police said, and they were mounting a “large-scale security operation” against them.

Somalia has not had a one-person, one-vote election in over 30 years and has suffered from a civil war since then.

Heavy gunfire has broken out in central Mogadishu as Somalia’s former PM Hassan Ali Khaire says he has been attacked by gov’t forces before planned anti-gov’t protests https://t.co/SwpLlUwLkU pic.twitter.com/TDVXT9XCjl

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 3, 2026

Former PM Hassan Ali Khaire alleged that he was attacked by government forces as he was preparing for the “peaceful” demonstrations on Thursday.

“This incident caused loss of life and damage, which is the responsibility of the president who has reached his term limit,” he said on X.

“The attack was a serious violation of the constitutional rights of Somali citizens and a clear effort to stifle peaceful assembly,” he added.

A neighbour of his told Reuters news agency that a mortar shell had hit his neighbour’s house, wounding a mother.

On Thursday morning, Ahmed Ismail told the agency that a large house near them was also on fire, and mortars and other weapons hit them.

There are no figures yet of the losses, and the president has not commented.

Khaire’s ally, former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, in a statement on X, said, “the opposition would not be scared.”

“If the President and his soldiers are afraid we will run away, we will not run away,” he said.

The protests have not taken place amid the fighting. The capital is now largely quiet, though some shooting can be heard in certain areas.

Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has dismissed reports that the fighting had affected flights, saying that operations at the city’s airport were unaffected.

“All flights at the Aden Adde Airport are on a normal schedule, and there are no cancellations,” the authority said in a statement.

The violence is “reckless” and leaders on both sides “have a responsibility to preserve stability and resolve differences through peaceful means,” the embassy in Mogadishu said.

Both regional bloc IGAD and the European Union Delegation in Somalia condemned all acts of violence, calling for parties to exercise restraint and pursue dialogue to resolve differences, and the European Union Delegation in Somalia urged Somali leaders to “strive to reach a consensus on an election roadmap in the interest of the Somali people”.

In 2022, Mohamud was elected by parliament, defeating then President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, also popularly known as Farmajo.

His previous presidency was in 2012-2017 when the fight against al-Shabab jihadists was the main agenda, and they continue to hold sway in many parts of the country.

After the end of the president’s term, the federal government and the opposition began negotiations, but failed to agree.

Mohamud has been trying to push Somalia towards democratic elections, which were previously conducted by clan elders who appoint MPs, who then elect a president.

The opposition is split on the process of direct elections, and in March opposed the constitutional change that extends the presidency by a year.

They also suspect that new laws on political parties and the appointment of electoral commissioners were not inclusive and would thus jeopardise fair elections.