LASANOD, Somalia — Authorities in SSC-Khaatumo on Monday addressed the killing of Farah Jama Aidid, a staff member at the Ethiopian consulate in Garowe, who was fatally shot in Laascaanood over the weekend.
Brig. Gen. Siyad Mahmoud Abdirahman, commander of the SSC-Khaatumo police force, said investigations are underway to determine those responsible for the assassination.
“We are conducting a thorough investigation and those behind this heinous act will be brought to justice,” he stated. However, he did not confirm whether any suspects had been apprehended, but assured the public that security agencies would promptly release official details.
Earlier in the day, SSC-Khaatumo Attorney General Abdullahi Hirsi Dheere publicly disclosed findings related to the killing. He accused the militant group al-Shabab of carrying out the assassination.
According to Dheere, Aidid had previously survived an attack by al-Shabab in which he was wounded. He also revealed that the slain official had once been a member of al-Shabab but later defected from the group.
The killing marks the first al-Shabab-linked assassination in Laascaanood since the withdrawal of Somaliland forces from the city. During Somaliland’s control, targeted killings were frequent, ultimately triggering the armed uprising that forced their exit from the Sool region’s capital.
