MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali state security forces and intelligence operatives on Saturday launched a sweeping house-to-house weapons search operation across an opposition stronghold in Mogadishu, hours after militias loyal to political figures vacated their frontline positions following a two-day urban battle.
The Banadir Regional Police Command confirmed that tactical units are executing targeted searches in the affluent Abdiaziz district to seize illegal weapons hidden in residential areas following recent kinetic clashes, according to Hiiraan Online. Local reports indicate the aggressive search parameters are focusing on military officers and individuals believed to hold close ties to former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, whose home was allegedly caught in the crossfire of the initial government operations, according to reports by Reuters and Hiiraan Online.
The disarmament sweep follows 48 hours of intense shelling and machine-gun battles that displaced an estimated 12,500 households across five central districts, according to a United Nations protection report published on ReliefWeb. The Ministry of Information declared that federal forces had restored order and cleared the main sectors after opposition fighters retrograded late Friday, succumbing to an avalanche of diplomatic pressure from Western envoys.
The political violence erupted initially over a disputed legislative amendment that extended President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s governing mandate by an additional year past his original May 15 expiration date, according to Reuters. Opposition blocks have continuously rejected the extension as unconstitutional and vowed to persist with political resistance despite the current police measures, according to reports from Al Jazeera.
While the capital remains calm but tense, police administrators warned that any citizen or official found to be storing or facilitating the movement of unauthorized military hardware will face immediate legal prosecution.
