Hiiraan Online
Wednesday February 17, 2016
MOGADISHU (HOL) – Somalia’s government has denied it issued a new directive that ordered the country’s legislators to go through security screening on their way through Mogadishu airport as parts of new security measures imposed after an explosion forced a Somali airliner to make an emergency with a gaping hole on its side on early February.
The government has announced that a bomb has caused the blast on Daallo Airlines without giving further details as investigations into the mysterious explosion is yet to be concluded.
“There is no directive issued by the security ministry which stated that Somali MPs would have to go through security screening at the airport,” said Abdirizak Omar, Somalia’s security minister at a press conference in Mogadishu Wednesday.Mr. Omar said that the government would not accept any practice that violates the legal immunity of the legislators.
His remarks follow complaints by several MPs who said they were subjected to random security checks at the airport despite having identified themselves as parliamentarians.
Meanwhile, Somali government has beefed up security of the Mogadishu airport, imposing new security measures including extra troops, sniff dogs checking cargos deployed and advanced screening machines that people using the airport must go through.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the bomb blast in the plane is still, with foreign technical experts including FBI technical experts joined the probe which officials said would be concluded as early as next week.
The blast has killed one person who the government identified as Abdulaahi Abdisalam Borle who security officials said carried out the bombing in the plane.
Al Shabab claimed the responsibility for the attack, saying it was targeting Turkish and western intelligence officials onboard the plane which was heading to Djibouti with 74 passengers onboard.
However, Somalia’s security forces arrested at least 20 people including civil aviation officials on suspicions of helping the suicide bomber who sucked out of the passenger plane.