AFP :
Gunfire and blasts have erupted in Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu, according to witnesses, Somali government and opposition leaders, as security forces clashed with protesters angered by delayed elections.
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 who began their march along the main airport road.
“There can be casualties but we are taking cover now I don’t know exactly what happened,” he told the AFP news agency.
Another witness Fadumo Moalim told AFP: “We were peacefully walking along the airport road together with former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Kheire, when the security forces opened fire on us, creating mayhem.”
A video seen by Al Jazeera from an anti-government demonstration showed civilians in face masks waving Somali flags scattering as gunfire erupted.
The violence comes after weeks of tensions over the holding of delayed elections in the Horn of Africa nation.
Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi, reporting from Nairobi, said that the gunfire erupted in an area close to the airport and that government and opposition sources had reported incidents.
