MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somalia’s opposition presidential candidates accused the federal government of a brazen assassination attempt on Wednesday, after security forces clashed with their guards in Mogadishu, killing at least one soldier and leaving the capital bristling with anger.
Grainy video footage from the capital’s Siinaay market showed uniformed security agents thrashing elderly men and women with rifle butts, sparking outrage across the city.
Opposition candidates swiftly denounced the behaviour as “cruel and barbaric,” while human rights advocates warned of an alarming slide into repression.
“An Attempt to Kill Us All”
Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the former president, echoed his collegues’ fury, accusing the government of unleashing security forces on unarmed demonstrators protesting forced land seizures.
In a televised address from his Mogadishu residence, he demanded the release of civilians allegedly being held inside Wardhigley station.
“This is a grave violation of human rights,” he said. “People were beaten and jailed simply for objecting to their homes being stolen.”
Hassan Ali Khaire, the former Prime Minister and a leading contender in the presidential race, claimed federal forces opened fire directly at him and other candidates as they approached Wardhigley police station.
“This was not an accident, nor a misunderstanding,” he told reporters. “It was an attempt to assassinate all opposition presidential candidates. My own protection detail was gunned down in cold blood.”
Government Hits Back
The federal government responded with blistering accusations of its own. In a statement issued hours after the firefight, officials accused opposition candidates of attempting to storm and seize the Wardhigley station.
“These reckless actions endangered the lives of both officers and civilians,” the statement read. “The opposition cannot cloak its lawless behaviour in the language of democracy.”
Senior security officials insisted that any deaths resulted from a brief exchange of fire triggered by opposition bodyguards, flatly rejecting claims of a state-sanctioned plot to eliminate rival politicians.
Somalia: A Nation on Edge
The confrontation has deepened fears that Somalia’s already fraught political climate is sliding towards outright violence.
With elections looming, opposition leaders warn of an escalating campaign of intimidation, while the government portrays its rivals as dangerous provocateurs willing to ignite chaos.
For ordinary Somalis, the scenes from Siinaay market — women sprawled on the ground after being struck, elderly men crying out as they were dragged away — were a brutal reminder of how the struggle for power has seeped into everyday life.
Nevertheless, as the dust settles, Somalia finds itself staring into the abyss: a fragile state under federal system where rivals now trade charges of murder and coup in the run-up to elections, and where the line between political contest and open warfare grows perilously thin.
