To escape the fighting of the government and the opposition ... A large displacement movement to the outskirts of Mogadishu

Residents of some Mogadishu neighborhoods began displacing their homes this morning for fear of renewed clashes between government forces and opposition supporters, while the international community calls for Somali parties to show restraint and resolve their differences through dialogue.

Al-Jazeera Net monitored an active movement between citizens in the Hoden and Hulodag neighborhoods (south of Mogadishu), as they hurriedly carry their luggage on foot or on cars, heading to areas on the outskirts of Mogadishu, which they see safe, while some of them do not know the destination to go to. .

Aisha Muhammad Ali is one of those who evacuate their homes for fear of fighting in their neighborhood, and she says that she recently returned from the exile to live in Mogadishu, but was surprised by security tension that may herald an imminent confrontation between government forces and the opposition in their directorate, which caused panic and fear in them, so they did not find an option in front of them. Only displacement.

"The Somali politicians, the government and the opposition, bear the responsibility for their suffering, and the suffering of thousands of families forced to flee," Aisha said - in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net. "The solution is still in their hands to agree on a solution that saves the country."

Another displaced person told Al-Jazeera Net that a force of opposition supporters stationed late last night in their area, and set up fortifications and earth mounds in preparation for an attack that might come to them by government forces, so they felt that there is a great danger coming, and it is feared that their area will become a scene of confrontations between the two parties.

Clashes and accusations

Last Sunday, armed clashes erupted between government forces and supporters of both former Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud and presidential candidate Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Shakur, and the two officials accused government security forces of attacking their residence in the north and south of Mogadishu with the aim of killing them.

Sheikh Mahmoud and Abdel Shakour accuse President Muhammad Abdullah Farmajo of being behind that attack, and that he bears the consequences of this act.

On the contrary, the government account indicated that government security forces clashed with what it described as elements involved in destabilizing Mogadishu to control security and maintain its stability.

Some residents of Mogadishu are looking for safer areas in the capital in the event of another outbreak of fighting (Al-Jazeera)

The election track failed

This conflict was expected after the electoral course in the country had faltered several times, and it began from the failure to organize elections through a direct popular vote that was scheduled for 2020, and then the federal government and the states agreed to hold alternative and indirect elections on September 17th.

However, the implementation of this agreement faced great difficulty after the emergence of intractable differences between the political forces, and it entered into marathon consultations, the last of which ended in failure at the beginning of this month, and the government accused the presidents of Puntland and Jubaland of responsibility for the failure, while the two presidents and the opposition held the responsibility for Somali President Farmajo.

Finally, the Somali People's Assembly decided on April 12 to extend the mandate of constitutional institutions for two years, which was rejected by the Somali opposition and the international community.

As a step dividing the country, which led to the outbreak of the recent conflict.

Residents of southern Mogadishu neighborhoods carry their luggage in search of safe areas (Al-Jazeera)

Calls to calm down

In order to calm the tense situation, and to prevent renewed confrontations;

Somali Prime Minister Muhammad Husayn Rubla yesterday evening called for a ceasefire and an emergency meeting attended by notables and politicians of Mogadishu, to search for a way out of the current security crisis.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Hassan Handabi Jamaali justified confronting the opposition forces under the pretext that members of Al-Qaeda and ISIS (Islamic State) are operating under the guise of the opposition, and said that “the efforts of the Somali Prime Minister Muhammad Hussein Rubleh to contain the tension are ineffective in dealing with Those items. "

On the other hand, the presidential candidate, Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Shakur, accused the Somali President, Farmajo, of sending troops to residential areas, which he described as unfortunate and legitimized the extension decision.

At a time when tensions and tension escalate in Mogadishu, calls for calm from the international community continue, the last of which was from the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, who expressed his concern over the clashes on Sunday, and renewed his call for political partners to refrain from further violence and resolve their differences through The dialogue also called on the Somali political parties to return to dialogue as soon as possible, and to reach a settlement on the basis of the September 17 agreement and the Baidoa understandings.