Sunday November 24, 2019
Mourners carry the body of Somali Canadian peace activist Almaas Elman to her funeral service in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Friday, Nov. 22, 2019. Preliminary investigations show Almaas Elman was killed by a stray bullet inside a heavily defended base near the international airport earlier this week in Mogadishu, the peacekeeping mission in Somalia said Friday. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The family of a young Somali-Canadian peace activist shot dead in Mogadishu is calling for an investigation by the two countries and says a statement blaming a stray bullet is “premature.”
Almaas Elman’s family said Saturday the fact that she had been pregnant makes her death even more unfathomable.
Elman was killed Wednesday while traveling in a heavily fortified base next to the international airport in Somalia’s capital.
The African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia on Friday said preliminary investigations indicated that she was hit by a stray bullet. It said there was no record of a firearm being discharged inside the base at the time.
Elman’s family called such statements unhelpful.
Elman was the latest member of the Somali diaspora to be killed while helping to rebuild the country.