Mogadishu, Somalia – Somali police have raided a house in Mogadishu that was being used as an illegal abortion clinic, uncovering what authorities described as a disturbing operation exploiting desperate women seeking help in secrecy.
The raid took place in the Wadajir district after residents alerted authorities to suspicious movements at a residential compound that had been quietly operating for months. Inside, police found medical instruments, blood-stained sheets, and unlicensed drugs believed to have been used to perform abortions under unsafe and unhygienic conditions.
A man identified as the suspected operator—a self-proclaimed doctor—was arrested on the spot. Investigators said he had been charging women around $200 per procedure, a substantial sum in a country where most citizens live below the poverty line. It is believed that many of his clients were young women, including some who had traveled from other parts of the city to avoid social stigma.
Health officials have expressed concern over the growing number of underground clinics offering unsafe reproductive services, warning that such practices endanger women’s lives and undermine ongoing efforts to improve maternal health in Somalia.
Authorities are now investigating whether the suspect had accomplices or ties to similar illegal operations elsewhere in the city. The suspect remains in custody as police collect further evidence, while the women who sought treatment at the clinic are being traced and offered medical and psychological support.
The case has reignited public debate over women’s health rights and the desperate choices many are forced to make in the absence of accessible, regulated reproductive care.