Opposition Decries 'Assassination Attempt' on Somali Ex-President

Opposition groups are demanding an investigation into an incident in which prison guards fired at a convoy transporting former president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Mogadishu. The incident prompted an apology from Justice Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, who described the shooting as "accidental". Mohamud, however, insists that the June 2, 2021 incident was a plot to kill him.

Mahad Abdirahman, the head of the Custodial Corps, condemned the incident but did not take responsibility, saying his forces had only responded to the leader's guards opening fire. "A battlewagon belonging to the security personnel of the former president ignored an order to stop for control at the checkpoint," he said.

Somalia is planning to hold the much-delayed elections within two months after the federal government and federal member states agreed on a deal to implement indirect elections. This as stakeholders have been bickering over the list of electoral managers, with the opposition demanding that up to 67 names be removed for being partisan or for having served in security agencies.