[4] In exile Mohamed Qanyare was a noted critic of the regime of Somali dictator Siad Barre, financially supporting different opposition movements against the former dictator, this support led to him being declared persona non-grata by the then President of the Republic of Kenya and close personal friend of Siad Barre and Daniel arap Moi.

During the early period of the civil war between 1993 and 1999 Qanyare was an active participant in several peace conference's held in Egypt, Ethiopia & Kenya, he was considered to be a fairly well established warlord, who derived income from several checkpoints around the main Bakaraa market commercial area of Mogadishu, as well as taxing the activities of the Dayniile airstrip, one of the many airstrips around the city of Mogadishu open at that time due to the closure of the main airport, as well as being a shareholder in the El-Ma'an port[citation needed].

He was also described as "a prominent businessman who runs an airstrip near the capital used by international aid agencies and importers of the stimulant leaf qat grown in Kenya and chewed by Somali men.

In early February 2006, Qanyare was pushing an alternate proposal to move the government seat to Baidoa, which irked Dheere greatly.

Mohamed Qanyare was a member of the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT), a group of Mogadishu warlords who sought to counter the growing influence of the ICU.

Intermittent fighting between the ARPCT and rivals, including the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) took place early in 2006, such as a four-day battle which concluded on March 27, 2006.

In July 2006, after regrouping a force of 150 men in Derri in central Somalia and escaping an assassination attempt by the ICU, Qanyare joined the TFG government at Baidoa to seek safe haven.

[13] On December 31, surrounded in headquarters compound by a dozen technicals, he claimed to have 1,500 men under his command, and asserted government control over Mogadishu was an illusion.