UN official killing probed
2005-10-06 13:59
Mogadishu - A faction controlling part of the southern Somalia has formed a panel to probe this week's killing of a United Nations security officer, say officials on Thursday.
Mohamuud Musse Gurageli, 42, a local UN field security co-ordinating assistant, was slain on Monday night by unidentified gunmen in Lower Juba region, about 500km south of the capital, Mogadishu.
Initially, militia said Gurageli, a Somalia national, was a victim of a botched kidnap attempt.
The leader of Juba Valley Alliance (JVA) that controls Lower Juba region, Barre Aden Shire Hirale, said: "We have appointed five people with credible knowledge about investigations and we rely on their expertise to tell us who are the killers."
Relations with global community
Hirale said: "The killing of the UN staff member in Kismayo is unacceptable and those who carried the barbaric action shall be brought to book.
"The killing of Gurageli undermined the credibility of JVA, the people of Kismayo and spoils our relations with the international community."
After the incident in the relatively peaceful region, UN pulled 12 of its staff from the region to other parts of Somalia.
In February 2004, Somali gunmen kidnapped German UN field security officer, Rolf Helmrich, in the same region, but released him after 10 days.
Clan militia in Somalia had used kidnapping as a means of generating income since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled in January 1991, plunging the Horn of Africa nation into an anarchy from which it was yet to fully emerge.