Critical Threats
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Horn of Africa: Unknown gunmen shoot and kill a Somali government judge in Baidoa, Bay region; unknown gunmen shoot and kill a Somali aid worker in Mogadishu; Kenyan government says Somali refugees living in urban areas must go to refugee camps; UN officials visit Marka, Lower Shabelle region
Horn of Africa Security Brief
Unknown gunmen shot and killed a Somali government judge in Baidoa, Bay region on December 18. The killers were able to flee the scene but searches for the suspects are already underway. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.[7]
A local Somali aid worker was killed by unknown gunmen in the Dharkenley district of Mogadishu on December 19. Two men who were carrying pistols shot the aid worker as he was leaving a parking lot. The shooters were able to flee the scene and no group has yet to claim responsibility for the attack.[8]
The Kenyan government has ordered nearly 100,000 Somali refugees living in urban areas to move to the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya. The Kenyan government says they have told the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and other aid organizations to only give aid to Somali asylum seekers and refugees who are living in refugee camps. Following this announcement around 200 Somali refugees were arrested in Nairobi. The Somali ambassador to Kenya denounced these arrests and said he is working hard to free those in custody.[9]
Officials from the UNHCR, the World Food Program, and the World Health Organization traveled to Marka, Lower Shabelle on December 18. The delegates are visiting Marka in order to assess the situation in the town and do what they can to help the Somali people living there.[10]
[7] “Somali Judge Gets Murdered In Baidoa,” Shabelle, December 18, 2012. Available: http://shabelle.net/somali-judge-gets-murdered-in-biadoa/
[8] “Somali Aid Worker Killed in Mogadishu,” Bar Kulan, December 19, 2012. Available: http://www.bar-kulan.com/2012/12/19/somali-aid-worker-killed-in-mogadishu/
[9] “Government Orders Refugees Back to Camps,” Daily Standard, December 18, 2012. Available: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000073190&story_title=Kenya-Government-orders-refugees-back-to-camps
[10] “UN Relief Teams Visit Marka Town,” Shabelle, December 18, 2012. Available: http://shabelle.net/un-relief-teams-visit-merca-town/