MOGADISHU, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Troops from the Somali National Army (SNA) were on a go-slow after closing down a market and barricading roads in the city on Sunday over claims of unpaid salaries spanning 12 months.
The soldiers ordered traders at Buluxubay market to close and went ahead to burn tires and closed sections of the roads with barbed wire.
Their superiors however prevailed upon them to end the demonstrations and return to work as they headed towards the central business district.
Some of the officers who spoke to Xinhua on Monday complained of several months without salaries.
"We need our rights. We have not been paid for 12 months now so we decided to make our concerns heard by coming to the streets," said Mohamed Shariff, one of the soldiers who attended the protests on Sunday.
"We love our country and we have been serving diligently but how can you support eight children without pay," lamented Ismai'al who was part of the demonstrations.
The soldiers appealed to the newly elected President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo to intervene, noting that his short stint as prime minister in 2011 led to regular pay for the military.
Muna Ahmed, a student from a local university, said they could not access their university on Sunday as the soldiers barricaded the road.
Somali soldiers have severally had to make with salary delays, a development which the UN warned could be detrimental to the morale of the forces.
A 2015 UN Monitoring Group for Somali and Eritrea report warned the war against terrorism in Somalia could be jeopardized since soldiers could be forced to sell their weapons and collaborate with militants.
Somalia has an estimated 20,000 soldiers trained by the African Union force AMISOM and supported by Britain and the United States.
There was no immediate word from the military leadership or government on the fate of the soldiers.
