A Somali politician who stood as a candidate for the 2021 parliamentary elections has been shot dead in the capital, Mogadishu, with no claim of responsibility for the attack so far.
Witnesses quoted by the Somali news portal Goobjoog News have indicated that Mohamed Husein Sebriye has been shot in Uadayir district by gunmen who subsequently fled.
The politician, known as ‘Guleyste’, was one of the candidates in the legislative elections, although he lost to Yusuf Kabale. The terrorist group Al Shabaab has been behind dozens of similar assassinations after warning all those participating in the electoral process.
Somali President Hassan Shaykh Mohamud vowed last week to continue the «total war» against Al Shabaab and indicated that «backing down and defeat is not an option» as offensives against the terrorist group have increased in recent weeks.
Somalia has stepped up offensives against Al Shabaab in recent months with support from local clans and militias as part of a series of decisions taken by the president, who pledged upon taking office to put the fight against terrorism at the center of his efforts to stabilize the African country.
