Garowe Online (Garowe)
8 February 2008
A former Somali police official was shot and killed moments after he left a mosque in the capital Mogadishu following Friday prayers, witnesses said.
Ahmed Omar, 62, died on the scene from the gunshot wounds. Two young men armed with pistols responsible for the killing escaped before police arrived on the scene.
Relatives said the late Mr. Omar was not part of the current Somali police force and they did not know why he was targeted. He was a retired officer, who served during the pre-1991 era, when the country's last effective national government was in power.
Meanwhile in Mogadishu, the Somali government deployed hundreds of troops in parts of Hodan district, which was the scene of heavy fighting two nights earlier.
Also in Bakara market, Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed Dheere refused to withdraw troops standing guard at the market's main entryway. Local truck drivers and traders have complained about the troops stationed there, who are often accused of extorting money from truckers and civilians.
In another killing, a Somali army commander was shot to death in Lower Shabelle region today.
Col. Hussein Gorgor was traveling along with his wife and two other passengers on their way to Baidoa, parliament's temporary base, when suspected insurgents opened fire on their vehicle.
Col. Gorgor died on the scene and two others, including his wife, were wounded in the crossfire.
The dead colonel was a former militia commander who joined the Somali army and was a ranking military officer at Lower Shabelle's Baledogle airstip, according to officials.
His killing is part of a series of assassinations targeted officials linked to the Somali government.
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