Clashes between Somali federal forces and residents resisting a midnight demolition operation shook Mogadishu's Yaqshiid district on Sunday, leaving about ten people hurt according to local reports, with unconfirmed accounts of deaths circulating and no official toll issued. [1] [2]

The confrontation began when troops moved into the Tookiyo neighbourhood before dawn to clear homes the federal government claims as public land, accompanied by crews stripping corrugated roofing. Residents who refused to leave confronted the demolition teams; Garowe Online reported that heavy weapons, including DShK machine guns, were deployed during the operation per residents and videos circulating online. [2] Protesters burned tyres in the streets afterward, and Shabelle reported witnesses describing an exchange of fire between security forces and residents, circumstances still unclear. [3]

The dispute is old in Mogadishu terms, which means generational. Families say they have held Tookiyo for decades and demand clarity on legal ownership before any bulldozer moves; the government frames its campaign as reclaiming state land, part of wider demolitions that have repeatedly ended this way. [1] Residents also fear the operation will expand toward Suuq Bacaad, one of the capital's largest markets. [2] Human rights advocates have warned for months that unannounced evictions displace already vulnerable families without due process. [1]

Sunday's flights added an ominous note: Turkish F-16s, stationed at Aden Adde for counterterrorism operations, flew low over districts touched by the unrest, drawing attention but no official explanation. [2] The government owes Mogadishu more than silence about who was hurt, and on what authority their homes came down.

-- LUCIA VEGA, São Paulo