MOGADISHU — Gunmen on Wednesday shot dead the information minister of Somalia’s self-declared state of Puntland, an official said.
Warsame Abdi Shirwa was killed in the central town of Galkayo which straddles the border between the breakaway region and Somalia proper.
“The minister died on the spot and we are investigating the matter,” said the senior government official who asked not to be named.
Local resident Mohamed Abdi said he saw police searching for the assailants.
Puntland, which declared its semi-autonomous status in 1998, has been relatively peaceful compared to the rest of Somalia, where the transitional government is under siege from an Islamist insurgency.
However, Puntland’s coast is a major hub for piracy that has turned the Gulf of Aden into the world’s most dangerous waterway.
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Source: AFP
