New Mogadishu 888 Emergency Number Gets At Least 40 Calls a Day, Police Say

First emergency phone number since government collapsed in 1991

The bullet-scarred streets of Somalia's war-ravaged capital are rife with danger, but after two decades of anarchy, the besieged residents can now at least call the police if there is a problem.

Colonel Yusuf Mohamed Farah sweeps open his arms wide, proudly showing off the busy operation centre of the new emergency police telephone hotline: a small and simple room with a single telephone, high frequency radio, a table and two chairs, and a battery to keep operating during regular power cuts.