Somalia: One dead as double bomb blasts occur in the capital overnight

Aweys Osman Yusuf Mogadishu 29, May.07 ( Sh.M.Network) At least two bomb explosions occurred in north of the Somali capital overnight. Witnesses told Shabelle that they heard double bomb blasts that took place minutes of each other. Both blasts were targeted at Somali government police forces in Heliwa neighborhood, north of Mogadishu. Ahmed Jama, a resident, said several people including armed guards whose weapons have been licensed by the government have been apprehended. Meanwhile unknown gunman armed with a pistol shot dead the chairman of Baled Weyne, the main town Hiran province, central Somalia. The victim was shot twice in the chest at a junction near Mogadishu’s largest bazaar, Bakara, where government police were stationed. The police cordoned off the area after the incident which happened around 5:25 pm local time. Since the Ethiopian backed government seized control of the insurgent strongholds in north Mogadishu, several bombings were launched on the foreign troops including the vanguard Ugandan forces from the AU. The government asks the African Union member states to send the rest of the peacekeeping forces to the war-torn country, but security and funding concerns have discouraged other African countries from sending troops to Somalia. President Yusuf promised to hold the national reconciliation conference by June despite the ongoing turmoil. The chairman of the conference, Ali Mhadi Mohammed, indicated recently that the number of attendees has been reduced from 3,000 to 1,300 because of lack of funding. Shabelle Media Network Somalia