Top Somali Insurgent Killed in Mogadishu | |
09 October 2009 |
The Islamist militant group Hizbul Islam confirmed Friday that a top commander has been killed outside the Somali capital Mogadishu.
Witnesses say unidentified gunmen opened fire on a car carrying insurgent commander Ahmed Abdurrahman Odawa, killing him and two other people.
A spokesman for Hizbul Islam told VOA his group is investigating who is responsible for the attack.
The groups had been working together to battle Somalia's weak transitional government. But they recently fought each other for control of the southern port city of Kismayo, a key source of revenue for the militants.
This week the insurgent groups announced they had agreed to a truce and planned to settle their differences under Islamic law.
Separately, a United Nations delegation visited Mogadishu Friday to discuss humanitarian efforts and the possibility of reopening the U.N. office in Mogadishu.
Somalia has not had a stable central government since 1991.
Al-Shabab and its allies control much of southern Somalia after a nearly three-year war against the Western-backed Somali government.