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| Africa Horn |
| Fearing assassination, local govt official resigns in Somalia |
| 2008-02-27 |
| (Garowe Online) - A local government official in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu resigned Tuesday fearing for his life, a day after his superior was shot and killed by suspected insurgents. Omar Osman Hilowle said he worked for the department of taxes in Wadajir, one of Mogadishu's 16 districts. "The reason I resigned is because of threats I received from anti-government groups," said Hilowle while speaking to local media, adding: "I feared for my children." He has good reason to fear. The head of the Wadajir department of taxes, Haji Ali Mohamed, was assassinated on his way to work yesterday. The killers escaped before police units arrived on the scene, witnesses said. Many government officials have been killed in Somalia since January 2007, when the Ethiopian army helped install the weak interim government in the capital. Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed “Dheere” Omar said last week that taxes would be collected from all the capital's districts, including residential and business tax. But the al-Shabaab guerrilla movement, which is spearheading the relentless and bloody insurgency against the government, issued a statement warning the government about collecting taxes in Mogadishu. Meanwhile, Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf attended the funeral of a slain police general, who headed the police band for decades. Gen. Abdi Kahiye was buried today after being shot and killed by insurgents, who claimed the killing on an Islamist-linked Web site. The insurgents want the immediate withdrawal of Ethiopian troops, whom they deem to be "invaders." But many say the government relies on its Ethiopian "friends" for its own survival. |
| Posted by:Fred |