Forces mistakenly kill Somali minister
Somalia's minister of public works and reconstruction Abbas Abdullahi Siraji, 31, was killed in Mogadishu on Wednesday in what was apparently an accidental shooting, government and police sources said.
In a statement, the government said it was "deeply saddened" by the death of Siraji, the youngest member of the Somali cabinet, who grew up in a Kenyan refugee camp before winning election in 2016 and being named a minister by President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.
Siraji's vehicle was mistakenly shot at by government security guards outside the presidential palace, a senator, Ilyas Abdulahi, told AFP.
Sources said the gunmen were security guards for another government official, many of whom are escorted around the capital by armed guards in pick-up trucks.
"Armed men on board a pick-up truck in front opened fire on the minister's car as he followed, it seems it was a mistake but it is being investigated," said Ibrahim Mohamed, a police officer.
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