MOGADISHU: Somalia’s interior minister survived an assassination attempt yesterday in Mogadishu, the latest challenge to President Sharif Ahmed’s fledgling efforts to stabilize the lawless country.
Abdukadir Ali Omar suffered minor injuries and spoke to the press moments after the roadside bomb explosion, which struck his vehicle, killing one bodyguard and two civilians.
“I have no problem and I escaped the attack. The only problem was that one of my men was killed and another was injured,” Omar said. “I’m not going to say who is behind the attack just now but we all know each other in Mogadishu and we will take steps to enforce peace.”
The African Union, which has more than 3,500 peacekeepers in Somalia, condemned the attack. In a statement, AU Commission special representative Nicolas Bwakira said: “The AU special representative notes with regret that the latest incident comes when the Somali government is making significant progress toward peace and reconciliation to end 18 years of fighting.”
The attack on the minister’s vehicle took place in the Bakara Market neighborhood at around 9:30 a.m. Witnesses said two bystanders were also killed when the device targeting Omar’s vehicle was detonated.
Omar is a member of the Islamic Courts Union, the movement headed by the president, who was elected earlier this year and has vowed to restore stability in the Horn of Africa country.
In a recent Internet audiotape, Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden urged Somalia’s hard-line Shebab organization to topple Ahmed and his administration.
Despite being at the forefront of the opposition to Ethiopia’s two-year military intervention in Somalia that ended earlier this year, Ahmed and his movement are perceived by hard-liners as US stooges. Ahmed has signed up to a UN-sponsored national reconciliation process and received international backing.
In a further sign of the anarchy in the country, five Kenyan Education Ministry officials were kidnapped on Wednesday after crossing the border into the small town of Bulohawo.
