Aid worker dies in Somalia

2005-04-18 14:27

Mogadishu/Nairobi - An aid worker was shot and killed early on Monday in the Somali capital Mogadishu, her employer and witnesses said.

The woman, a Somali national named Maryan Kuusow working for the Swedish-based organisation International Aid Services (IAS), was confronted by gunmen wielding handguns and shot as she was entering a school in the Waberi district in southern Mogadishu, witnesses told reporters.

The organisation's office in Nairobi confirmed the fatal shooting, and spokesperson Elias Kamau said the woman had been on her way to facilitate a seminar at the school on Monday morning.

A spokesperson for the Madina Hospital in Mogadishu said that Kuusow was brought to the hospital before her body was taken to her home.

The woman's driver remained in hospital with serious injuries.

Kamau said the organisation would not speculate on why their employee had been targeted, as they were still trying to find out more about the shooting.

The capital of Somalia remains highly unstable after 14 years of civil war, with warlords and their militias controlling various parts of the city.

A government formed last year after lengthy peace talks still meets in Kenya due to the persistent insecurity at home. - dpa

- SAPA