SUPPORTERS of opposition political figures and state security forces fought in armed clashes today that erupted in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Wednesday evening ahead of a planned anti-government demonstration.

No official casualty figures were immediately available from the violence that prompted calls for restraint from the United Nations as the government and opposition traded blame for the violence.

Gunfire was reported in several neighbourhoods of the capital, according to eyewitness accounts.

Police said they are carrying out a “large-scale security operation” against “heavily armed militias who launched mortar attacks” in some areas.

Opposition figures say the rally planned for Thursday was intended to protest what they call constitutional violations and efforts by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to extend his tenure. The government has rejected those allegations.

Former prime minister Hassan Ali Khaire said he had been attacked by government forces while he and other leaders were preparing for Thursday’s “peaceful” demonstrations.

He took to social media to lay “the responsibility for any casualties or damage resulting from this incident with the president whose term has expired.

“This attack is a grave assault on the constitutional rights of Somali citizens and a deliberate attempt to suppress peaceful assembly.”

In a statement, former president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said the violence would not halt the planned demonstrations.

He said: “If the president and his soldiers think that we are afraid or that we will flee, we are not going to run away.”

Mogadishu police said the violence stemmed from “organised attacks” carried out by armed militias linked to groups pursuing political interests.

“The incidents were not the organisation of peaceful public demonstrations, but rather co-ordinated armed acts that directly threatened the security, order and stability of the capital,” the police said in a statement.

In a statement, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres condemned “all acts of violence and incitement to violence,” as he called for differences to be resolved through dialogue.