Posted to the web 14 June 2007
Aweys Osman Yusuf
Mogadishu
Unknown gunmen killed Mogadishu's Shibis district commissioner on Thursday amid an armed confrontation between Ethiopian troops and unknown gunmen took place in the capital's north neighborhood.
Abokar Hussein Bandas, was shot dead by two gunmen around 7:20 am local time while on his way to his office, close relatives told Shabelle in early Thursday morning.
More than six Somali transitional government officials have been slain since the government moved to the volatile capital, once controlled by the powerful Islamic Courts Union that was routed by the Ethiopian and Somalia forces late last year.
Shabelle reporter, Hirabe, who was at the scene where the incident happened, said two men armed with pistols shot the victim twice in the head and in the chest.
"The gunmen targeted the district official, Abokar Bandas at the bus terminal of Manaboliyo in north of capital," Hirabe said.
A large number of Somali government troops soon arrived cordoning off the area and searching shops and houses along the street.
The incident comes a day after the mayor of Mogadishu, Mohammed Dheere, appointed a new district official, Omar Ali Gaabow, firing another.
Blasts and gun fight
Huge explosions could be heard in Mogadishu overnight as heavy exchanges of gunfire followed, residents around former pasta plant where Ethiopian troops are based reported.
Residents said unknown gunmen attacked the Ethiopian bases in three neighborhoods in north Mogadishu with explosives as residents woke up after gigantic explosions shook the neighborhoods.
"We were very frightened as several blasts occurred and exchanges of gunfire followed. The whole incident lasted between twenty and thirty minutes," Feynus Ali, a resident, told Shabelle Thursday.
Nonetheless, no casualties have been reported this morning, but the areas where the fighting took place last night were blocked by the Ethiopians this morning. Buses and private cars had to use roads in the environs to reach their destinations.
Peace talks adjourned
omalia's national reconciliation convention was postponed yesterday. The chairman of the reconciliation committee, Ali Mahdi, told journalists yesterday the conference was delayed until 15 July. It was the third postponement since the President Yusuf revealed the date in early February.
The conference was supposed to take place in April but because of an increase of violence, it was delayed until May 15 and again June 15.
This time the chairman Mahdi said, "The conference will be held in July 15. And the setback came after the tribal delegates requested that they should get enough time to choose their representatives who will attend the country's national reconciliation assembly."
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