Mogadishu residents leave the capital after several days of violence

Mogadishu residents have started to flee from their homes after military forces, who are against Somalia's president’s term extension, took over new positions along Maka al Mukarrama, a key road that is often used by the government officials.

Residents say they fear armed clashes will renew in the city.

Heavily armed Somali opposition fighters held positions in parts of Mogadishu on Monday, a day after clashes with government troops erupted over the president's bid to extend his mandate, in the country's worst political violence in years.

Fighters used mounds of earth to barricade roads, while armed men and vehicles mounted with machine guns were stationed in opposition strongholds after the fighting that left three dead.