Surveillance cameras endanger shop owners in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu

Shopkeepers in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, are in trouble after the government ordered surveillance cameras to be installed outside their stores to step up surveillance of Islamist insurgents who have a large presence in the city.

The businessmen say if they install the cameras they risk being shot by al-Shabab insurgents and if they don’t, they could be arrested by police.

The BBC has changed the names of the businessmen and homeowners for their own safety.

“Because of the surveillance cameras, people see me at home now,” says former shop owner Hamza Nuur, 48, as he sits on a sofa with one of his children.

He tells the BBC he made the painful decision to sell his company to avoid the wrath of both sides.

“You are told not to remove the cameras on one side, and then you are told to remove the cameras on the other side. Depending on which choice you make, either a bullet or a prison cell awaits you,” Mr. Nuur adds.

The government last year issued an order for shopkeepers to install surveillance cameras at their own expense to deter al-Shabab attacks.

Mogadishu’s deputy mayor Mohamed Ahmed Diriye tells BBC Africa Daily podcast that the decision paid off.

“There used to be four or five bombings a month in Mogadishu, but that is no longer the case,” he says.

The government has now ordered residents to install the cameras outside houses and apartment blocks, raising fears among many people that al-Shabab could bring its war into their homes.

According to a leading violence monitoring group, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (Acled), al-Shabab has killed four businessmen in 10 attacks related to the installation of surveillance cameras since October.

The government’s directive was ultimately aimed at destroying al-Shabab’s funding sources as it extorts money from shopkeepers, but the insurgents’ retaliatory attacks “have forced many businesses in Mogadishu’s main markets to close their doors for days,” Acled adds in a report published on its website.

Mr. Nuur says he initially ignored the government’s instruction but was forced to install the cameras after a confrontation with members of the security forces.

“I tried to explain to them that I was just a poor man and didn’t want to get involved with the government, but they got angry and started threatening me, saying they would ruin my life,” he tells the BBC.

Mr Nuur says that after installing a surveillance camera, he began receiving calls from unknown numbers.

“My body started shaking from the inside. I knew who it was,” he says, referring to al-Shabab operatives who have a well-entrenched spy network that allows them to obtain information on civilians like Mr. Nuur.

Mr Nuur says he changed his number simply because a young man approached him in his shop one morning.

“He lifted up his shirt. He had a gun at his waist. He told me to turn on my SIM card.”

Mr. Nuur said he agreed and the phone rang. The anonymous caller wanted to know if “the government’s demands are more important to you than ours.”

“I didn’t know what to do. The young man with the gun stood there the whole time. I thought if I hang up the call he will shoot. So I quietly whispered a prayer,” Mr. Nuur adds.

He says that luckily the man was “able to leave the store without incident after I hung up.”

Mr Nuur says he decided to sell his business after two shop owners were shot dead in October.

“There is nothing more valuable than human life,” he says.

Criticizing the government’s directive, Mr Nuur added: “People trying to make ends meet are being drawn into a war against a powerful group that even the government has difficulty dealing with. Imagine how we feel as civilians.”

Diriye denies that businesses are closing or that owners are being forced to install surveillance cameras.

However, he acknowledges that some business people have fears but says the government is doing its best to reassure and protect them.

“The city is quiet and business is running smoothly,” adds Diriye.

But Asiyo Mohamed Warsame tells the BBC that masked gunmen killed her 40-year-old brother Dahir Mohamed Warsame at his shop in Mogadishu’s Yaqshid district in October after he installed surveillance cameras under pressure from security forces.

“He left behind six children, the youngest of whom was only four months old,” she says.

Shop owner Ismael Hashi, 33, says he closed his shop after receiving anonymous calls from suspected Al-Shabab militants.

“They knew my name and more. It was like they already knew everything about me,” he tells the BBC.

Mr Hashi adds that he later received a call from police asking him to open his shop – and when he ignored them, he was detained for a few days before being released.

Mr Hashi says he has now reopened his business.

“I still have surveillance cameras installed on government orders, but I know that the government cannot protect me if someone decides to take my life,” he says.

“Every time I’m behind the counter and someone I don’t know comes in, I get nervous and wonder if that’s the person who was sent to kill me,” Mr Hashi added.

Sidow Abdullahi Mohamed, 39, tells the BBC that he was arrested for failing to install a surveillance camera at his home in Wajir district.

He added that 14 other people on his street were also arrested.

“We were taken to Wadajir district police station where we were detained for hours. We were finally released after someone with government ID came, vouched for us and got us out,” says Mr Mohamed.

He adds that he and the other residents have now installed surveillance cameras – but they live in fear.

“As civilians, we are forced to buy the cameras, pay to install them in our homes and risk violence from al-Shabaab. Does the government expect to win hearts and minds in this way?”