Months of political tensions over the holding of elections in the fragile Horn of Africa nation have burst into the open, prompting the United Nations to call for"calm and restraint."
Somalia missed a deadline to hold an election by February 8, when President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, better known by his nickname Farmajo, was due to step down, creating a constitutional crisis. It was unclear who opened fire first, but one witness Yusuf Mohamed reported a "heavy exchange of gunfire" between security forces and armed guards protecting opposition supporters.
"Something hit a restaurant inside the airport, it burned, I cannot say what it was but it caused a heavy explosion and fire that devastated the whole restaurant," said witness Liban Ali. "If there was anyone with doubt about the dictatorship political ideology of Farmajo, they can get inspiration from what happened last night and this morning."
Farmajo was due to hold a meeting with regional leaders on Mogadishu on Friday in the latest bid to resolve the election impasse.The Somali government in a statement accused "armed militiamen" protecting opposition leaders of attacking a government security checkpoint and seeking to take over parts of Mogadishu.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.