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Mogadishu children are celebrating Eid al-Fitr with much joy for the first time after al-Shabaab deserted the city in August 2011.

"After waiting for six long years, we can now see the radiant faces and innocent smiles of our children celebrating Eid al-Fitr without violence or bloody confrontations in the capital," said Mogadishu resident Abdiqani Yusuf. "Young Somalis are licking their wounds caused by the scourge of terrorist foreign fighters and Somalis loyal to al-Qaeda, which is obsessed with murder and bloodletting."

Yusuf told Sabahi that children are smiling once again as they bid farewell to al-Shabaab's brutality.

"Terrorists are the enemies of our people and our country and there are no limits to their cruelty and crimes," Yusuf said.

Taysir Jama Abdulqadir, father of four, told Sabahi that a year ago, children could not visit beaches, recreational areas and cinemas because they ran the risk of encountering car bombs and improvised explosive devices.

Mogadishu residents were also not able visit their relatives and friends in Balad, Afgoye, Beledweyne, Baidoa, Hudur and Garbaharey because al-Shabaab would attack and sometimes kill them. But since then, these cities and towns have been liberated by Somali and allied forces.

"In the past, holidays in Mogadishu were a scene of pain with smoke filling the air from terrorist attacks," Abdulqadir said. "But now, a sliver of hope is appearing on the faces of locals who are trying to forget the worry, pain, injustice, hardship, suffering and distress raging inside of them."

Hoda Dahir, 13, said she was excited to wear new clothes for Eid.

"I cannot wait to go out and spend the holidays with my grandmother who lives in the coastal city of Marka," she told Sabahi. "Of course, I will not forget to collect money from all my relatives on that day."

Bashir Harid, 12, told Sabahi he wants to play with his friends and visit the houses of relatives and family friends to collect Eid gifts of money and sweets.

In contrast to the past, the streets of Mogadishu, Afgoye and Balad have been stages for imaginary battles played out by children with plastic toy weapons. Children scatter through roads and alleys, shooting firecrackers in celebration.

Before Eid, the grand markets in Mogadishu, including Bakara, Hamar Weyne and Suuq Baad, were filled with shoppers preparing for Eid, buying new clothes, shoes and sweets.

Mudey Ibrahim Dhere, a clothes merchant in the Hamar Weyne market, told Sabahi there is high demand for clothes for children between the ages of 3 and 15, including shirts, jeans, trousers and dresses. "The price of some of the imported merchandise has gone up," he said.

On the morning of Eid al-Fitr, revellers shake hands and ask God for forgiveness and blessings. People go to morning prayers, which start after sunrise.

Imam Hassan Fidow, a preacher at a mosque in Wardhigley District, told Sabahi that hand shaking is a tradition in which Somali well-wishers exchange greetings and embrace one another during Eid.

It is also customary during Eid to remember those less fortunate, such as orphans, internally displaced persons and people still suffering from the effects of insecurity and hunger.

Raaliyo Sheikh Abdiaziz, an activist with the Association of Civil Society in Mogadishu, told Sabahi that some children collect money to give to poor children in the camps for internally displaced persons in Mogadishu who have nothing but old clothes, so they can feel the Eid spirit and be happy.