Mogadishu Residents Protest Forced Evictions in Wabari District

MOGADISHU — Families in Mogadishu’s Wabari district took to the streets on Thursday, August 13, 2026, to protest forced evictions, with demonstrators criticising President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and accusing Turkey of supporting what they described as a “bloody hand” in Somalia. The protests come amid escalating tensions over land rights and government-sponsored demolitions in the capital.

According to Shabelle Media Network, Somali government forces used live ammunition against residents resisting eviction from their homes in the Wabari district. “We have nowhere to go. We are civilians. We are being robbed,” a woman said while protesting the forced evictions in Wabari. Demonstrators expressed frustration over the displacement of families from their homes and businesses, with opposition leaders accusing the government of land grabbing and corruption.

MP Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, leader of the Wadajir Party, has previously warned that forced evictions in Mogadishu could fuel extremism, saying the government’s actions risk creating a humanitarian and security catastrophe. “This isn’t just about homelessness; it’s about national security,” Abdishakur said, warning that the government’s campaign was “handing Al-Shabaab a powerful recruitment tool on a silver platter.” He emphasised that when citizens are stripped of their homes, dignity, and livelihoods without due process, the resulting despair becomes fertile ground for extremist groups seeking to exploit grievances.

Forced land evictions in Mogadishu have previously escalated into a major political confrontation, transforming a local dispute into a national flashpoint. The crisis erupted after the demolition of Engineer Siicoow’s home in the Sinai area, where witnesses say he was physically prevented from protecting his property and later beaten by security personnel accompanying the demolition crew. Opposition leaders, including former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and ex-prime ministers Hassan Ali Khaire and Abdi Farah Shirdon, denounced the evictions as unlawful and described them as part of a wider pattern of government-backed land grabbing.

Heavy fighting erupted in the capital in May 2026 when rival security factions clashed over government attempts to demolish the Warlaliska neighborhood in Daynile district. The area is home to thousands of low-income families, many of whom depend on daily income from the Bakaro market and other commercial centres in the capital. Witnesses reported heavily armed forces entering the neighbourhood with bulldozers and attempting to demolish houses while some residents remained inside, refusing evacuation orders. The incident sparked intense gun battles that reverberated across Mogadishu throughout the evening, with continuous gunfire exchanges involving heavy weapons.

Federal lawmakers representing the Daynile district accused President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of targeting their clan in a “pure hatred campaign” and called on him to stop plans for home demolitions and resident evictions from parts of the district. The United Nations has warned that more than 142,000 internally displaced people have been forcibly evicted from temporary shelters since the start of 2025, with the majority of those evictions taking place in urban settlements across Mogadishu, Baidoa, and Kismayo.

Former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire has issued a sharp warning to the country’s security forces, cautioning them against carrying out forced evictions of civilians from their homes. “Soldiers must not follow orders that ‘harm their own mothers,'” he said, stressing that the armed forces exist to protect the public rather than uproot them.

Tensions have risen in Siliga Towfiiq, Yaqshiid district, where dozens of families have staged protests against what they describe as systematic land grabs by powerful business interests. Residents accuse individuals of fraudulently selling off their homes and plots of land, leaving many households without shelter.

The government has previously blocked opposition protests against forced evictions, with security forces sealing off Koonis Stadium and turning back former Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble and Abdirahman Aynte. The protest was organized to draw attention to forced evictions and home demolitions, which opposition figures say have displaced hundreds of thousands of residents in recent months.

Former President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has issued a stark warning that the country’s fragile statehood is “on the brink of collapse” due to what he called rampant and unlawful land seizures by politically connected elites. He accused influential businessmen and well-placed officials of orchestrating widespread land grabs across the capital and beyond, describing the practice as “a dangerous betrayal of the public trust” that undermines the stability of the state.

Critical Note

The forced evictions in Mogadishu represent a fundamental failure of governance and a violation of the most basic rights of Somali citizens. The government’s use of live ammunition against residents resisting eviction is a disturbing escalation that signals a disregard for the rule of law and the protection of civilians. The allegations of land grabbing and corruption, if confirmed, would represent a grave abuse of power by those entrusted with governing the country.

The warnings of opposition leaders that these evictions could fuel extremism are not idle threats. Desperate populations are vulnerable to exploitation by militant groups seeking to recruit from communities that have lost faith in the state’s ability to protect them. The government must urgently halt these evictions, launch an independent investigation into the allegations of corruption, and ensure that the rights of all Somali citizens are protected. The Somali people, who have endured decades of conflict, deserve a government that respects their rights and upholds the rule of law.