A member of the Somalia’s autonomous state Parliament of Puntland has been assassinated in Galkayo, a city located in North-Central Somalia by unknown gunmen on Friday evening, Horseed Media reports.
MP Said Hussein Nur was shot outside a Galkaio mosque as he left, where he had performed evening prayers.
“They attacked him while he was leaving the mosque, and killed one of his guards as well,” one of the witnesses told Horseed Media.
No group has yet claimed the responsibility of the attack. It’s unclear what motivated this murder.
Puntland Vice President Abdihakim condemned the attack and vowed that the perpetrators will be brought to justice.
He becomes the second MP from the Puntland Parliament assassinated in less than a month. In April, a Puntland MP was killed in Mogadishu by armed men and later his murder was claimed by al-Shabaab.
Galkayo has experienced for the past few years numerous explosions and assassinations, which most of the were claimed by the Radical Islamist group al-Shabaab.
The town is divided into two parts, the Northern and Southern axis. The largest part is administered by the Puntland authority and Southern is governed by Gal-mudug Administration.
Puntland local authorities have several times accused Gal-mudug for giving safe havens to assailants who carry out assassinations in the Northern axis, but Gal-mudug has denied.
Horseed Media
Somalia: Puntland MP murdered outside mosque
Published: May 8, 2015