Somalia beefs up security ahead of first local elections in decades

Mogadishu: Somalia will deploy more than 10,000 security personnel in the capital, Mogadishu, ahead of next week s local elections the first direct...

Mogadishu: Somalia will deploy more than 10,000 security personnel in the capital, Mogadishu, ahead of next week's local elections -- the first direct polls in nearly 60 years -- the security minister said on Sunday.

The east African country is struggling to emerge from decades of conflict and chaos, battling a bloody Islamist insurgency and frequent natural disasters.

In April, the country launched voter registration for the first time in decades, a step towards universal suffrage and an end to the complex clan-based indirect voting system in place since 1969.

The December 25 polls -- which the opposition has boycotted, accusing the federal government of "unilateral election processes" -- will see more than 1,600 candidates contest 390 local seats in the southeastern Banadir region.

Nearly 400,000 people are registered to vote in the elections, according to the country's electoral body.