
Supporters of Somalia`s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and those opposed to the extension of his four-year term clashed on Sunday on the streets of the capital, residents said.
The president signed a law in mid-April extending his mandate for two years, stoking opposition inside Somalia and putting him on a collision course with Western and other donors opposed to the move.
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Somalia, which plunged into war and chaos in 1991, has been struggling to re-establish the authority of central government and rebuild the nation, with international help. The failure to hold elections that were due in February sparked a new crisis.
"There is gunfire between pro-opposition military and government forces at Fagah Junction," Halima Osman, a resident of Fagah in Mogadishu, said after Reuters witnesses heard gunshots erupt in capital.
A Wion witness saw four military vehicles positioned in one place in the Fagah area.
Somalia`s lower house of parliament passed legislation to extend Mohamed`s tenure by up to two years, although the decision was rejected by the upper chamber.