By Guled Mohamed and Ibrahim Mohamed
Sunday, August 19, 2007

Maalim Harun Maalim Yusuf was shot twice in the head by three men armed with pistols outside his house in northern Mogadishu, his wife Madina Guled Mahamed told Reuters on Sunday.

Shoot-outs in Somalia's lawless capital have become increasingly common since allied Somali-Ethiopian forces seized the city from Islamists in December, sparking an insurgency that has killed hundreds and displaced hundreds of thousands.

But residents say elders are normally too revered to be targeted. Yusuf's shock killing has therefore sparked fears of bloody reprisals in a city teeming with semi-automatic weapons.

"One of the bullets penetrated through his head," Mahamed said in a low, hoarse voice as she tried to choke back tears. "He was shot as he knocked on the gate. We don't know why they killed him -- he was a delegate at the peace talks."

The elder hails from the same sub-clan as Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi. He was chief negotiator of a sub-clan of the Abgal clan at a reconciliation conference aiming to bring an end to the bloodshed in Somalia.

Delegates said he was playing a crucial role.

"Maalim Yusuf was a peace-loving elder. We will badly miss him. His death will negatively impact the talks," delegate Abdirahman Ahmed told Reuters. "This is a big blow to peace."

Heavy fighting rocked the neighbouring Horuwa district of Mogadishu hours after Yusuf was killed. Insurgents fired mortars at police who took up positions around a children's hospital.

"Two guards and a man were wounded after mortars landed at the hospital. The insurgents attacked the police from two sides and we were caught in the middle," a security guard who asked not to be named told Reuters. "The police responded with heavy artillery -- it was really terrifying."

Somalia has been without a functioning government since military ruler Mohamed Siad Barre's regime collapsed in 1991, causing the Horn of Africa country to disintegrate into a patchwork of quarrelling fiefdoms.

Deadly fire fights have intensified in the past few months.

At least 16 people were killed and 30 others wounded on Saturday in a gun battle between rival clans in central Somalia.

Hours earlier, the deputy governor of Mogadishu survived an assassination attempt as his car hit a remote-controlled landmine planted by suspected insurgents. (Additional reporting by Abdi Sheikh)

Source: Reuters, Aug 19, 2007

hamdi @ 8/20/2007 4:01 PM EST  dadka afka duubta ee dadka laayaa maxaa loogu mintidi waayaa marka ay xaafad dad ku dhex dilaan ama masaajid laga soo dareerayo, Reer Muqdisho maxaa ka dhigey dad damiir la' oo sida xoolaha la isku hor dilo, yaa nool maalin walba qof qaaliyaa la dilayaa. Dadka ku haya Abdulahi Yusuf baa ka dambeeyey, waxaad ilowsantihiin isaga laftiisa in afka loogu soo duubtay Kenya markuu daganaa, gaarigiisana la qarxiyo. war dadkan Soomali maaha filayaa siday aniga ila tahay, qof soomaliyeed oo muslim ah qof masaajid ka soo baxay ma dileen, bir ma goydada madax dhaqameedna ma dileen, ee dadkan wax dilaya ha lagu mintido oo xaafaday wixii jooga ha ku dhagaan, naftu mar bay baxdaa, lakiin nimankan waa in la ogaado meesha nalooga soo diray

george bush @ 8/19/2007 8:00 PM EST  it's a game, a dangerous game and he invested in it but lost. I won't shed any tears for any local somali leader. he was in it for the money but got killed.

qig504 @ 8/19/2007 7:34 PM EST  How many times I have been told " Diese ist nicht dein heimat dumkopf, und wir mussen kein affe haben im unsere heimat" just because of little misunderstanding. You only understand what having a country that is all yours means when you don't have one anymore. Yey and Gedi do not understand because they have been blind folded by both greed and tribal worship at the expense of Somalia and its 12 million people. Boys we have no choice but to liberate "unsere haimat" by all means. everything is only table to get Gen. Gabre and his lackays Yey and Geedi going

afuuf @ 8/19/2007 6:39 PM EST  senseless killing, may allah reward him jannah since he is shahiid so far all the killings are unrelated to the issue of ethiopian troops being there the only people that can be blamed for this igonorant killing is his own subclan and they should behead those behind it. also anyone boycotting the conference is responsible for this killing such as the other hawiye clans who have only one interest which is distroy somalia also the criminal courts and the corrupted fake but mostly uneducated idiots who call themself free MPs should be hold responsible

Dr Ali @ 8/19/2007 5:35 PM EST  Somali Cow "Abdullahi Yusuf" and his special forces was behind this killing. Their aim was to blame ICU army but many people understood their dirty trick. Abdullahi Yusuf is war criminal who need to face justice