Somalis riot after politician shot dead outside mosque

A member of Somalia’s virtually powerless government was assassinated today as he walked out of a mosque, enraging hundreds of Somalis who rioted in the streets screaming, “We want a government that can restore law and order!”

It was the second shooting of a politician this week and the latest blow to an administration that has watched helplessly as Islamic militants with alleged links to al Qaida took control of the capital and much of southern Somalia.

People began streaming into the streets just hours after a gunman opened fire on Abdallah Isaaq Deerow, the minister for constitutional and federal affairs.

A 35-year-old man was arrested but authorities had no further details, said Police Chief Aadin Biid.

“We condemn this wicked action, and the government will chase the murderers and treat them with an iron hand,” the government’s information minister, Mohamed Abdi Hayir, said today.

Two days earlier, Mohammed Ibrahim Mohammed, chairman of the parliamentary committee for constituional affairs, was shot and wounded. It was not immediately clear whether the shootings were connected, although the men had worked together.

“If we don’t express our anger we are afraid the killings may continue. We want to encourage the government to identify the culprits,” said Baidoa resident Shafarah Younis, as nearly 400 people shouted and set fires near the presidential compound.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other, carving much of the country into armed camps ruled by violence and clan law.

The government was established nearly two years ago with the support of the UN but has failed to assert any power outside its base in Baidoa, 155 miles from the capital, Mogadishu.

The administration started unravelling this week when 18 key ministers resigned, saying the government has failed to bring peace.

The Islamic militia, meanwhile, has steadily gained power and influence, raising fears of an emerging Taliban-style regime. The United States accuses the group of harbouring al Qaida leaders responsible for deadly 1998 bombings at the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

The militia, known as the Supreme Islamic Courts Council, has rallied even ore supporters by condemning reports that troops from neighbouring Ethiopia have entered the country to protect the fragile government.

Ethiopia is Somalia’s traditional enemy, although Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf has asked for its support – a decision that infuriated many Somalis.

“We will launch a holy war against the aggressors,” said Abdirisaq Hassan, among 5,000 people who turned out today for an anti-Ethiopia demonstration in the capital, Mogadishu.

“We shall go to heaven if we die and they will suffer in hell if they die.”

Deerow, the politician who was killed today, was “an ardent supporter of close ties with Ethiopia,” his friend, Ali Mohamed Ahmed Daon, said.

Deerow was a secondary school teacher before entering politics in the 1990s.

The UN special envoy to Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall, said he was appalled at the shooting.

“I offer my condolences to Mr Deerow’s family and appeal for calm in what is already a turbulent moment in Somalia’s recent history,” he said.

Islamic fighters closed roads around the capital’s airport and chased away onlookers while a plane was unloaded today. A similar aircraft delivered goods on Wednesday, and officials from the government accused Eritrea of sending arms to the militants on that flight.

Islamic officials and Eritrea both denied the accusation. Eritrea and Ethiopia have been accused of supporting opposite sides in the Somali stand-off, using the country as a battleground in their own rivalry.