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Top UN official killed in Somalia | Top UN official killed in Somalia |
(21 minutes later) | |
Gunmen have killed the head of the UN Development Programme in Somalia, UN officials say. | Gunmen have killed the head of the UN Development Programme in Somalia, UN officials say. |
Osman Ali Ahmed was shot as he left a mosque in the capital, Mogadishu, and died in hospital of his injuries. | Osman Ali Ahmed was shot as he left a mosque in the capital, Mogadishu, and died in hospital of his injuries. |
It is the latest in a string of attacks on officials, which is plagued by lawlessness after years of conflict. | It is the latest in a string of attacks on officials, which is plagued by lawlessness after years of conflict. |
Islamist groups have been staging an insurgency against the government troops and their Ethiopian allies who ousted them from power in 2006. | Islamist groups have been staging an insurgency against the government troops and their Ethiopian allies who ousted them from power in 2006. |
Mr Ahmed was attacked in Mogadishu's southern Bulohube district, a UN official told AFP news agency. | |
"The gunmen shot Ahmed as he was leaving evening prayers in the mosque in Bulohube," he said. | "The gunmen shot Ahmed as he was leaving evening prayers in the mosque in Bulohube," he said. |
Mr Ahmed's son and another man were also wounded in the incident, the Associated Press news agency quotes a neighbour as saying. | |
The neighbour said Mr Ahmed had been covered in blood and unconscious as he was taken to hospital. | |
The shooting came a day after an explosion in the capital reportedly killed a Somali official, his wife and four others. | The shooting came a day after an explosion in the capital reportedly killed a Somali official, his wife and four others. |
Civil conflict | |
Recent violence in Somalia has come despite a ceasefire pact signed by the government and opposition Islamist groups last month. Some factions rejected the deal. | Recent violence in Somalia has come despite a ceasefire pact signed by the government and opposition Islamist groups last month. Some factions rejected the deal. |
Ethiopian troops, in Somalia to support the government, said they had killed at least 71 insurgents last week. | |
Thousands of people have fled the country this year as the security situation has deteriorated, aid agencies say. | |
Somalia has experienced almost constant civil conflict since the collapse of Mohamed Siad Barre's regime in January 1991. | |
The UN has warned that nearly half of Somalia's population is likely to require aid later this year. |