Unidentified gunmen have killed a prominent Islamic cleric in Bosaso, the provincial capital of Bari region of the semi-autonomous state of Puntland, eyewitnesses said Tuesday.
Sheikh Sahal, the deceased man was the Imam of a mosque in Bosaso town, and he was gunned down after Maqrib prayers and his killers then disappeared.
“A gang with pistols gunned down the cleric, they fired several bullets on his head and he died on the spot” Ali Omar Abdi, one of the eyewitnesses told APA by telephone.
“The cleric was prominent and well respected in the town,” Ali added.
It is not clear the motive behind the killing of the cleric, and no group has so far claimed responsibility. But it seems that it is part of the insecurity that has recently emerged in Puntland.
Meanwhile, the Puntland police have arrested some suspects for the killing and a police official said that they were investigating the incident and the suspects will soon be brought to court.
Somalia had been plunged into anarchy after the overthrow of former President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, when warlords used their clan-based militias to remove Barre only to turn on each other for power, leading to constant inter-clan war which left thousands killed and millions displaced.
As the country has no functioning central government, pirates have virtually operated freely on the coast, particularly from Puntland, harassing merchant shipping and in the process, collecting millions of dollars in ransom.
Source African Press Agency
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