MOGADISHU — Mortar shells struck residential
neighborhoods near the presidential palace in Somalia’s capital
Mogadishu on
Sunday shortly after parliament convened to approve the recently appointed
cabinet, underlining the security challenges confronting the new government.
اضافة اعلان
In addition to a looming famine, the Horn of Africa
nation also faces a grinding Islamist insurgency, with Al-Shabaab militants
ratcheting up their attacks in recent months.
On Sunday, as parliament met to approve Prime
Minister
Hamza Abdi Barre’s 75-member cabinet, which includes a former
Al-Shabaab deputy leader, several rounds of mortar shells landed near the
presidential palace, according to a security official and a witness.
“We have no recorded casualties so far as
investigations are ongoing,” district security official Mohamed Abdifatah said.
One of the rounds damaged a medical facility in the
area, according to an onlooker.
“One of the mortar rounds struck in the midst of the
Xararyaale intersection and another hit a hospital close by,” Abdikadir Yare, a
witness, said.
There was no
immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came weeks after
recently elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud hinted at his government’s
willingness to negotiate with Al-Shabaab, saying it would only happen when the
time was right.
A total of 229 legislators voted in favor of the new
cabinet, with seven votes against and one abstention.
Former Al-Shabaab deputy leader and spokesman Muktar
Robow, who once had a $5-million US bounty on his head, will be the new
religion minister.
Robow, 53, publicly defected from the
Al-Qaeda-linked militants in August 2017.
The US embassy in Mogadishu on Sunday congratulated
Mohamud and Barre “on the confirmation of their selections for the new
cabinet”.
Soon after Mohamud’s election in May,
US President Joe Biden ordered the re-establishment of a US troop presence in Somalia to
help in the fight against Al-Shabaab, reversing a decision by his predecessor Donald
Trump to withdraw most US forces.
Al-Shabaab has waged a bloody insurrection against
the Mogadishu government for 15 years and remains a potent force despite an
African Union operation against the group.
Its fighters were ousted from the capital in 2011,
but continue to wage attacks on military, government and civilian targets.
In July, Mohamud said ending the violent insurgency
required more than a military approach.
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