SOMALI opposition fighters took up positions in parts of the tense capital yesterday, a day after clashes with government troops erupted over the president’s bid to extend his mandate.

Witnesses reported that armed men and vehicles mounted with machine guns were stationed in opposition strongholds, while key roads in Mogadishu were blocked.

“Both the Somali security forces and the pro-opposition fighters have taken positions along some key roads,” witness Abdullahi Mire said.

Somalia, already fragile after decades of civil war and an Islamist insurgency, is facing its worst political crisis in recent years after the failure to hold planned elections in February.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, best known by his nickname Farmajo, has faced harsh criticism from foreign allies after signing a law approved by parliament, which extended his mandate by two years. On Sunday night, sporadic bursts of heavy gunfire rang out across the capital after fighting broke out between government forces and soldiers allied — mainly by all-important clan ties — to the various opposition leaders.

The clashes — mainly in the northern neighborhoods of Sanca and Marinaya and the busy KM4 crossroads in the center — began after dozens of opposition supporters marched in protest against Farmajo’s term extension.

Tensions remained high yesterday, with some people trying to leave their homes in tense neighborhoods.

The former president Mohamud said Sunday that “forces loyal to” Farmajo had attacked his house, which the government denied.

Somalia’s prime minister, Mohamed Hussein Roble, told a press conference yesterday he was “disappointed with the violence aimed at destabilizing peace and stability in Mogadishu during the holy month of Ramadan.”(SD-Agencies)