An unknown gunman shot and killed Somalia’s constitutional and federal affairs minister in the provincial town of Baidoa on Friday, just a day after the Somali government was plunged into crisis when 18 ministers quit over its policies.
Abdalla Derrow Issak was shot three times as he left a mosque after Friday prayers in the temporary government base in Baidoa, about 250km north-west of the capital, Mogadishu. He died as passers-by rushed him to hospital, witnesses said.
”Allah shall forgive him, Abdalla passed away after he was shot by an unidentified gunman,” one of his relatives said.
Parliamentary Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden mourned the minister as a ”peace-loving” Somali and vowed that the government, which is largely regarded as weak and defenceless, will deliver justice to the criminal. The motive of the killing remains unclear.
”This is an unacceptable crime that is against our efforts to deliver peace in Somalia. I am deeply hurt and saddened by this cold-blooded murder. We lost Issak physically, but he will remain in our heart and mind for the rest our lives,” Aden said.
”The government will investigate [this incident] and show its responsibility that criminals will not go unpunished,” he added.
Police said they have arrested a suspect, believed to be the killer.
”We arrested a man after tips from Baidoa people, who were at the scene of the murder,” said Colonel Ibrahim Gabbow, the police commander for Bay region, where Baidoa is the capital. ”We arrested him because his physical profile fitted the one we were given by the public.”
The killing came as Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi prepared to face a motion of no confidence, and his government tried to downplay the mass resignation of 18 ministers.
Deputy Information Minister Salad Ali Jeeley said Gedi will replace the ministers, who quit on Thursday protesting against a decision to deploy Ethiopian troops to protect the fragile government from an advance by Islamic militia.
”The resignations will not undermine the performance of the government, which is committed to serve the interest of the Somali people,” Jeeley said from the temporary seat of government in Baidoa.
”All those who resigned will be replaced as soon as possible,” he added.
Jeeley said the prime minister was on Friday in consultation ahead of a weekend debate on a vote of confidence, which seeks to throw out the 18-month-old government that has been unable to exert control across the shattered Horn of Africa nation.
”The government will defeat the vote of no confidence set for debate on Saturday. I am confident that the motion will be thrown out,” Jeeley added.
Last week’s deployment of Ethiopian troops in Baidoa and outlying outposts to bolster the fledgling government’s weak defences from a feared attack by powerful Islamists, who control the capital Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia, has split the transitional Parliament.
It has also prompted the United Nations, the United States and Western countries to warn that any interference by Somalia’s neighbours — notably arch-foes Ethiopia and Eritrea — might scupper efforts to achieve lasting peace in the country.
The Islamists have refused to participate in Arab League-mediated peace talks with the government planned for Khartoum on August 1 and 2 until the Ethiopian troops have withdrawn.
In Mogadishu, a second plane believed to be carrying weapons from Eritrea landed at the city’s airport, stoking fears of all-out war, according to witnesses.
”A heavy cargo plane landed at Mogadishu airport. It is believed to be carrying weapons,” said Mogadishu resident Ahmed Hassan. His account was confirmed by several other witnesses.
Like the first plane that landed on Wednesday, the second one bore the emblem of Kazakhstan — a gold emblem on a blue background. The former Soviet state frequently charters its planes, they said.
In December 2004, the 275-member clan-based Parliament passed a motion sacking Gedi and his government, arguing that he was illegally in office and his appointment had violated the transitional charter. But President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed later reappointed him.
The government, formed in Kenya late 2004 after more than two years of peace talks, was seen as the best chance for the Horn of Africa nation to win a functional administration since the ousting of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
Since then more than 14 internationally backed initiatives have failed to yield a government, and analysts have blamed it on a bunch of unruly warlords who got arms and other forms of support from neighbouring countries contrary to an existing UN arms embargo. — Sapa-AFP