Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Somalia: Mogadishu Mayor Survives Assassination Attempt
Mayor of Mogadishu greets European Union military officer.
Mayor of Mogadishu and Governor of Benadir region General Hassan Mohamed Hussein Mungab survived a landmine explosion in Mogadishu's Huriwa district on Sunday (July 27th), Somalia's RBC Radio reported.

Mungab was en route to his office near the Lafweyn hotel when the explosion hit his vehicle, said Ali Farah, spokesman for the regional administration.

An elderly man who was passing by was confirmed dead in the blast, and a woman was injured.

Security operations were scaled up in Mogadishu over the weekend after the assassination of singer and Somali lawmaker Saado Ali Warsame on Wednesday.

Police recovered a cache of weapons in Hodan district during the operations, spokesman for the Ministry of National Security Mohamed Yusuf told Goobjoog News.

The weapons cache was found in a garage and included sharp shooters, bombs, mortars and other explosives.

In addition, several suspected al-Shabaab members were rounded up during door-to-door searches conducted by Somali and African Union Mission in Somalia soldiers in the Sei Piani and Taleeh neighborhoods, Radio Mogadishu reported.

Meanwhile on Friday, journalist Mohammed Abdullahi Haji of Radio Mogadishu and SNTV narrowly escaped death when an explosive affixed to his vehicle detonated moments before he got in.

The car was destroyed in the blast but Haji was uninjured, according to RBC Radio.

On Sunday evening, after a meeting with city district commissioners to discuss security measures for Eid al-Fitr, Mungab told Mogadishu residents to stay vigilant and continue to help security forces protect the city throughout the Eid al-Fitr festivities.

"We will continue playing our role but we tell the civilians to play theirs," he told residents.

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