Sports, Art, Streetlights: A New Life in Mogadishu The seaside capital of Mogadishu is full of life for the first time in 20 years after African Union and Somali troops pushed Islamist militants out of the city last year. Schools, shops and markets have reopened. The city government has repaired potholed streets and installed new streetlights. Turkish Airlines last month began weekly flights. Western-style restaurants are opening, including near Mogadishu's beach front, where men and women swim together without fear of punishment from militants. People dance at weddings. It's too early to say that the chaos, violence and hunger that have gripped Mogadishu since 1991 are gone for good, but a tectonic shift has occurred the last few months.