Top UN envoy shocked by ‘cowardly’ attack against Somali minister

The United Nations envoy to Somalia today strongly condemned the deadly roadside bomb blast which wounded the country’s Interior Minister and killed one of his assistants in the capital, Mogadishu.

The minister, Sheikh Abdulkadir Ali Omar, was walking through bustling Bakara Market on Thursday when the landmine exploded.

“I am shocked by this attack on the Interior Minister and his entourage,” said the Secretary General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah.

“This is a cowardly act which has been widely condemned inside and outside Somalia,” he added.

Aided by the UN-facilitated Djibouti Agreement, last month saw the formation of a new Government of National Unity, as well as the creation of a newly-expanded Parliament and election of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in the Horn of African nation, which has been ravaged by factional conflict since the overthrow of Siad Barre in 1991.

The Special Representative noted that the new administration led by President Sheikh Ahmed was working hard to improve security, raise resources and help Somalis lead a normal life.

“Attacks such as these are clearly aimed at trying to stain the country’s reputation,” said Mr. Ould-Abdallah. He stressed that the new Government has the support of the majority of Somalis as well as the international community and that “the country is on the road towards peace and will not be thrown off course by these actions.”