MOGADISHU (KAAB TV) – Labourers working at a construction site staged a protest in the city center of Mogadishu this morning after their work was halted by gunmen claiming to be police officers demanding payments from the construction company.
KaabTV spoke to the angry labourers, who stated that they earn a meager income from their work, which they use to support their families.
However, today they were unable to work due to the threats they faced from the gunmen.
“We came here at 6.am this morning. When we started the work gunmen arrived and said they will kill us if we proceed with the construction work,” said Mohamed who is one of the construction workers.
“We have children who are waiting for us to feed them. We do not know what to do,” said another affected worker.
One man told Kaab TV reporter that the gunmen hit them with their guns when they arrived this morning.
We tried to reach out to Waberi district commissioner and his deputy, but none of them responded to our queries.
It is common in Mogadishu for the construction of houses to be stopped by gunmen from various groups, sometimes multiple times, demanding payment.
While Somali police, local district officials, and clan militias usually demand payment, sometimes even Al-Shabaab stops building of new houses when owners fail to pay them.