Somalia security forces were on Saturday deployed in the capital Mogadishu as the city woke up to tension following reports that Mayor Thabit Abdi Mohamed could be replaced.
Checkpoints were erected at different points on all roads leading to the city’s main center.
The entrance to the Benaadir Koonis Stadium was blocked by security forces.
Tension is high in Mogadishu hours after elders led by Imam Mohamed Yusuf convened an overnight emergency meeting to show solidarity with Mayor Mohamed.
In a signed statement read at a Press Conference minutes after midnight the elders protested Fridays announcement by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo revocation of all land sale or lease backdating to February 2017.
The elders claim the move aimed at curtailing the powers of Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed as part of a conspiracy to frustrate him politically.
Mogadishu has been rife with rumours that Mayor Mohamed may be replaced with the supposed emergence of political rivalry with Prime Minister Hassan Kheyre.
