At least twelve security forces were on Sunday 7th February 2021 killed by a roadside bomb planted outside a Somali town where political leaders had been meeting to try to resolve a row over a presidential selection process due to be held on Monday.
The Al-Qaeda affiliate, Al-Shabaab which security analysts say is keen on exploiting the current political deadlock, claimed responsibility for the attack.
According to the Police sources, among the killed included Abdirashid Abdunur, the head of the National Intelligence and Security Agency in Dhusamareb.
Leaders from regional states had a meeting with Somalia’s President and the country’s Prime Minister in Dhusamareb. A deal on how to choose a new President on Monday has been elusive so far, threatening to unleash more political turmoil.
Somalia had initially aimed to hold its first direct election in more than three decades but delays in preparations, and the government’s inability to rein in daily attacks by extremist Al-Shabaab insurgents, meant switching to an indirect vote, with elders picking lawmakers who would choose a president.
However, regional authorities in at least two of Somalia’s five federal states, Puntland and Jubbaland, oppose holding the election for now.
Al-Qaeda aligned Al-Shabaab is keen on exploiting the current political crisis in the war-torn Somalia with more attacks targeted on key political figures, elders, security forces and civilians expected to scale up.
