Batuulo Mohamed Cosoble, one of the affected residents from Zone-K in Hodan district, said her family land—where her father was born in 1906—was forcibly taken.

She explained that although she presented her ownership documents to the Banadir Regional Court, she was told to instead contact President Hassan Sheikh, who had already sold the land to businessmen.

“I never imagined that, like the Palestinians, we would one day be forced to fight for our land,” Batuulo said. She added that the families are ready to stage protests in Mogadishu’s streets to demand the return of their property.

Hassan Xareed Diini said he lost his small shop in Taleex, Hodan district, when it was demolished, leaving his family without their daily source of income.

“The land taken from me was not used for any public interest, but rather sold to another private individual like myself,” he said, referring to the site of the former National Fairgrounds, which the Hassan Sheikh government sold to Premier Bank—a company accused of being heavily involved in Mogadishu’s forced evictions.

During the meeting, a moment of mourning was observed for seven people (six male and a woman) killed in clashes in the Tarabuunka neighborhood on August 14.

The violence erupted after forces loyal to President Hassan Sheikh attempted to evict residents, sparking armed resistance from local militias and civilians.

The incident triggered fresh displacement of thousands of families as the fighting spread to nearby civilian areas.

WHERE IS THE MONEY COMING FROM?

Questions have since arisen about the vast sums of money being exchanged in these controversial land deals.

MP Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame said the sources of this money are highly suspicious, suggesting they may be linked to piracy or terrorist networks.

“These are not established businessmen, but rather young men whose sources of wealth are unknown. Did they get the money from piracy, or from Al-Shabaab? Nobody knows,” Abdirahman told the gathering.

Prominent opposition politicians, including former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, former Foreign Minister Ahmed Isse Awad, and MP Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, were among those who met with the displaced families.

“We deeply regret that a government meant to defend its people and country is instead preoccupied with displacing its citizens,” said Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

Opposition leaders warned all parties involved in the rampant land grabs including businesspeople, corrupt judges and police officers that the situation is spiraling out of control, cautioning that the crisis will not stop here if left unchecked.

The post Opposition Meets Evicted Families Amid Rising Land Grabs in Mogadishu appeared first on Kaab TV.

Among the most critical challenges facing the population is the near-total absence of government-run healthcare, leaving millions without access to medical treatment.

In makeshift camps like Barxad-weyn in Mogadishu’s Kaxda district, internally displaced people (IDPs) endure severe living conditions.

Widespread illness, food and water shortages, and lack of basic services plague these communities.

Many IDPs have lived for years with untreated, often life-threatening illnesses.

Amid this crisis, a group of Somali female health professionals has stepped in to fill the gap.

These trained volunteers, operating under the Somali Female Health Professionals Forum, have launched a grassroots medical initiative to offer free treatment and lifesaving surgeries to vulnerable patients who cannot afford hospital care.

The team regularly visits camps on the outskirts of Mogadishu to identify and assist those in need.

So far, they have coordinated over a dozen successful surgeries, mostly for patients suffering from tumors.

One such patient is Abdi Omar Nur—known locally as “Buraale” due to the large goiter that had protruded from his neck for 16 years.

The condition forced him to quit his job, severely impacting his livelihood.

After meeting the volunteers, Abdi was referred to a local hospital in Mogadishu, where he underwent successful surgery free of charge.

“I couldn’t sleep or work because of the lump on my neck,” said Abdi. “Alhamdulillah, I received surgery. Now I can move my neck freely again.”

Sahro Abdulle Ali, a mother of seven who had suffered for over a decade from a tumor in her upper arm known medically as lipoma.

Sahro, who lives in Xaawo Taako camp, had worked as a cleaner — a common daily job for many IDP women to earn a living — but she struggled due to her condition.

” After 12 years, now I feel that I can work again,” Sahro told Kaab TV.

She too received free surgery, thanks to the volunteers’ efforts.

“We are health volunteers,” said Fatima Ismail Warsame, chair of the Somali Women Health Professionals Council. “We collect reports on poor and displaced people in need of medical care. Then we appeal to hospitals and doctors. When approved, we help facilitate the treatment.”

Most of the volunteers are trained nurses and healthcare workers, operating across Mogadishu.

Their work has gained support from hospitals like Germany Hospital, whose Director General Dr. Hassan Omar Mursal said: “We don’t set strict conditions. If the patient qualifies medically and surgery is feasible, we proceed.”

Still, challenges remain. Not all patients can undergo surgery—especially the elderly or those with chronic conditions like diabetes or hypertension.

Additionally, Somalia’s overwhelmed hospitals cannot meet the demand, and with the suspension of USAID funding to Somalia, aid shortages are worsening.

Today, an estimated 3.8 million people are internally displaced across Somalia, with limited or no access to healthcare. In the absence of a functioning public health system, the efforts of these volunteer health professionals offer a rare and vital lifeline.

The post Volunteer Health Workers Provide Lifesaving Care to Somalia’s Displaced Communities appeared first on Kaab TV.

This marks the second such assault on the settlement in less than a month.

The area, home to over 2,000 internally displaced people—many of whom have lived there for more than three decades—was surrounded by armed officers who ordered residents to vacate immediately.

“The armed men began spraying red paint on our makeshift houses. They were armed. We were shocked—my children, who were asleep, woke up and started crying,” said Fadumo, a disabled resident paralyzed in an accident.

Local elders and residents told Kaab TV that Commander Ganey claimed he was acting under direct orders from Banadir Regional Police Commissioner Mahdi Omar Moalim, commonly known as “Macallin Mahdi”.

Both Ganey and Mahdi are former members of the militant group Al-Shabaab who are now integrated into Somalia’s federal police.

Residents—including women, children, and elderly people—were threatened with bulldozers if they failed to leave within 24 hours.

“They gave us an ultimatum. If we don’t leave, they said they would flatten our homes,” said Sultan Mahamud Adan, speaking on behalf of the affected families.

The settlement—once the government’s pharmaceutical storage site under the former military regime—has served as a home for generations of displaced Somalis.

Many current residents were born and raised in the camp, forming a long-standing informal community.

Health Ministry Denies Involvement as Al-Shabaab Links Emerge

Federal Health Minister, Dr. Ali Haji Adam said his ministry had not authorized any eviction from the former pharmaceutical site and had no knowledge of any government plan to repurpose the compound.

“My ministry was not informed any plans to evict the people or anything related to the former factory of the Warshadda Daawada,” he said.

Insiders allege that a businessman with historical links to Al-Shabaab paid bribes to federal officials to acquire the land.

These reportedly include Banaadir Regional Court Chairman Salah Ali Mahmoud—commonly known as Salah Dabaan—whose brother serves as a judge in Al-Shabaab’s shadow courts in southern Somalia. Salah is also a close ally and clansman of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

The unnamed businessman is reportedly planning to convert the land into a private vehicle garage.

A police source confirmed to Kaab TV that substantial bribes were paid to senior police and judiciary officials to carry out the eviction.

Commander Yasin Ganey has refused to comment beyond stating that he is “acting on orders from above.”

The families we spoke to said that no alternative housing, relocation assistance, or compensation has been offered, making it difficult for them to relocate.

Women in the camp expressed deep concern for the welfare of their children and elderly relatives.

“We don’t know where to go. We have children and elderly who can’t walk. We have nothing,” said Halimo Mahmoud, who has lived in the area since childhood.

Pattern of Forced Evictions and High-Level Land Grabs

This incident is part of a broader trend. In August 2023, armed police and members of the national intelligence (NISA) similarly evicted dozens of impoverished families from land once belonging to the former Ministry of Veterinary which is adjacent to the current site.

That land was reportedly handed over to businessmen connected to one of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s wives, Qamar Ali Omar, who allegedly profited from the transaction.

In another incident on April 29, armed men under Macallin Mahdi’s orders raided another former factory along Mogadishu’s Industrial Road in Dayniile District, forcibly evicting over 500 displaced families.

That same day, four local journalists covering the eviction were shot at and later arrested by police, according to the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS). After hours in detention, the journalists were released—but only after their footage was deleted.

The April eviction was also allegedly orchestrated by wealthy businessmen who enlisted Macallin Mahdi to forcibly remove vulnerable families—including women and children—who had lived at the site for years.

Throughout his current term, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has faced ongoing accusations of corruption and complicity in land grabs targeting vulnerable communities.

Local media and civil society groups say thousands of families have been evicted from public land in Mogadishu since 2022.

These lands are often sold or leased to political allies, powerful businessmen, or individuals linked to the president’s inner circle, usually without due process or transparency.

Rights advocates describe these evictions as part of a systematic campaign of forced displacement driven by profit and elite enrichment—frequently carried out by military and police forces under government orders.

“Internally displaced people usually live in privately owned settlements without land tenure documents. This has resulted in a number of forced evictions, which remains a critical protection concern,” said NRC’s Abdukadir Mohamed in a June 2023 report.

According to the NRC, more than 2.6 million people in Somalia live in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Due to mass migration from rural areas, many IDPs have settled in cities, where they face ongoing difficulties in finding work and securing basic necessities.

The post Over 2,000 Families in Mogadishu Face Forced Eviction by Armed Police Linked to Ex-Al-Shabaab Fighters appeared first on Kaab TV.