A member of the Somali new parliament named Mustafa Haji Maalim was shot dead outside his home after atteding an evening prayers in Mogadishu.
Reports say Islamist rebels are responsible of the killing and even threatened to kill every legislator in the country.
The killing is the latest in a wave of attacks since Somalia’s new assembly elected President Hassan Al Shaikh Mahmoud earlier this month.
Today, a UN official strongly condemned the killing of Mustafa Haji Maalim and called for an independent investigation on the crime and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
“I am shocked and outraged by the killing of Hon. Maalim.” -Augustine P. Mahiga, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia
Mr. Mahiga says these cowardly acts of targeted assassinations and indiscriminate bombings cannot deter the remarkable courage of the Somali people, whose tenacity and determination has overcome formidable obstacles and brought them where they are now.
According to Mr. Mahiga, the MPs were selected in a transparent, consultative and representative manner and were called upon to serve at a critical moment in the history of the country.
“This loss has come very early in the life of the new Parliament whose work is central to the new path that Somalia has chosen. It is a reminder of the challenges faced by the new institutions and administration.” -Mr. Mahiga
Last week, deadly suicide bombings at a prominent restaurant in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, has killed at least 15 people.
Reports say two suicide bombers targeted a restaurant in Mogadishu, killing and wounded scores of civilians, including journalists and police officers.
According to media reports, the attack comes as Somali government troops are advancing on the port of Kismayo, the key stronghold of the Islamist group Al-shabaab.
The Security Council has expressed strong condemnation of the yesterday’s bombings in Mogadishu.
Security Council says it is “deplorable” and that Somalis are being targeted after the important gains made in recent weeks in completing the country’s transition.
The attacks were condemned as “cowardly and senseless” by the top United Nations envoy in Somalia.
One week after the historic selection of a new leader in war-torn Somalia, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was inaugurated in the capital of Mogadishu last week.
Reports say Mohamud won the election against outgoing President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed by the legislative vote of 190 to 79.
The inauguration ceremony was reportedly participated by prominent regional leaders including the PM of Ethiopia and president of Djibouti.
The top United Nations envoy in Somalia hailed the inauguration of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as a “new era” for the war-scarred nation.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) Augustine P. Mahiga
also UN’s continued support to help Somalia move forward.
The inauguration of the new President marks the end of the transitional period and the beginning of a “new era” for a country that has been engulfed with turmoil over several decades.
As the process moves forward, the UN Political Office for Somalia highlighted that it will continue to stand with the President in addressing instability and insecurity in the contry.
Reports say, the new President has survived a deadly attack on a hotel in Mogadishu, where he was giving a press conference after his election.
Earlier this month, Somalia’s Parliament has elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as a new president of the country.
International community considered the selection of a new leader Somalis as a key step toward Somalia’s political transition process.
Reports say Hassan Sheikh Mohamud a political newcomer won the election against outgoing President Sheik Sharif Sheikh Ahmed by the legislative vote of 190 to 79.
In 2011, Mohamud reportedly organized a new political party in Somalia named Peace and Development.
Somalia has been in constant wars for past two past decades since the collapse of the Somali state in January 21, 1991. Millions of lives were lost and countless number of people had been internally displaced.
Somalia is the country worst affected by a severe drought that has ravaged large swaths of the Horn of Africa, leaving an estimated 11 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
