Somalia declares order restored after two days of fighting in Mogadishu

Key points

• Violence that paralysed two Mogadishu districts subsides, but opposition rejects president’s rule and vows to fight on.
• Mogadishu, Somalia – Fighting between government forces and opposition fighters that paralysed parts of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, for more than two days has eased, with the federal government declaring that it has restored order.
• The violence erupted on Wednesday, and the government declared the districts of Abdiaziz and Hawlwadag calm on Friday.
• “Opposition group militias have been disarmed and removed, and civilians have returned to their daily lives,” the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism said in a statement.
• The violence stems from a dispute over whether President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the incumbent, will stay in power.