Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Sheikh Mohamed Muse Duale, the head of the Beledweyne court in the central Hiran region, died soon after he was shot late Monday at a junction in southern Mogadishu. “I saw a young man armed with a pistol shooting the victim twice in the head, before he escaped,” eyewitness Hussein Mohamed told AFP. “He fell on the ground and died soon after,” he added. Hiran regional governor Hussein Mohamoud Malin confirmed the assassination. “We don’t know who killed him but we are investigating the matter and we hope the assailant will be arrested soon. We will never stop pursuing the assailant until we bring him to justice,” he said. The Somali government blames remnants of an Islamist movement defeated by Ethiopia-backed government forces at the start of the year for the increase in attacks. An Ethiopian offensive at the end of April put an end to two bouts of heavy clashes with Islamist-led insurgents and clan fighters that killed hundreds and forced tens of thousands to flee. Somalia plunged into lawlessness with the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and more than a dozen attempts to restore central authority have since failed. Source: AFP, May 29, 2007