Gabbal Posted October 9, 2005 UN official killing probed 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. News24 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabbal Posted October 9, 2005 Somalia: UN welcomes investigation into staff member’s murder 7 October 2005 – The United Nations has welcomed the prompt efforts of the Somali authorities, including the regional Juba Valley Alliance (JVA), to investigate the murder earlier this week of a UN security official in southern Somalia. “The killers must be apprehended and action taken against them, and we encourage the JVA and the people of Kismayo to do just that.†UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator Maxwell Gaylard said yesterday of the shooting death of Mohamuud Musse Gurage in Kismayo on Monday. Mr. Gaylard stressed that the UN mandate is to support the Somali people in their development and peacebuilding efforts and that UN staff need to be safe to carry out their duties in the Horn of Africa country, which has been without a functioning central government since the collapse of President Muhammad Siad Barre’s regime in 1991. “This murder is an outrage against all that the UN stands for, and an act of cowardice against a defenceless UN worker,†he said. “It is particularly unfortunate that this should happen at a time when Somalis are at last beginning to move towards peace and reconciliation with the support of the international community and the recent UN re-engagement in Kismayo.†UN News Center Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
