Security forces on Monday killed at least five people in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, as they cracked down on riots sparked by rising food prices and record inflation, witnesses said. At least 20 000 people were out on the streets to demonstrate as anger grew at printers of fake money and unscrupulous traders.
Hospitals in Mogadishu overflowed with the wounded on Sunday and the death toll from mortar strikes on the city’s sprawling main market reached at least 17. Scores of civilians at the Bakara Market were hurt on Saturday when troops positioned at the Villa Somalia presidential palace returned fire against Islamist insurgents who attacked it with mortar bombs, witnesses said.
Mogadishu traders were dejectedly sifting through the charred remains of their shops on Thursday after a huge fire destroyed one-third of Bakara market, once the Somali capital’s main business hub. The vast market area and its intricate network of alleyways were completely disfigured by the fire.