General Mohamed Nur Galaal, a former career officer-turned-politician on retirement, is reported killed in the ongoing Hotel Afrik siege, Mogadishu.
General Galal was among the most prominent, living figures of the Hawiye clan – a power game-changer in Somalia politics.
The commander of the hotel security, a guard and a business are, also, among those confirmed killed in the siege of Hotel Afrik which started in the afternoon and is still on.
Abdullahi Nuurre Siyaad, brother of politician Abdi Nuurre Siyaad ‘Abdi Waal; is the businessman who has fallen in the attack.
A high-level meeting convened by the largest clan in the Benadir region, the Hawiye, was just wrapping up when the attack began, – which may – to some – add another dimension to the siege.
General Yussuf Indhcadde, who has been recently chosen to oversee the security of the Union of Presidential candidates who are predominantly Hawiye, narrowly escaped capture and a worse fate.
The general said the attackers failed to reach main areas in the hotel and were contained in peripheral areas opening to the courtyard and the main gate which they blew open to enter.
The Hawiye elders and politicians, according to the reports, were concerned on how the 13 MPs that President signed on Thursday to represent Benadir in the Senate would be constitutionally accommodated. They also discussed how and in what proportional ratios would chief clans in the region divide the seats among themselves, and how the MPs would be elected/selected.
Fearing a ploy to increase assenting voices in his Favour among MPs, the elders discussed ways they could prevent Farmajo succeeding on his designs. If he did, they knew he would have these many more ‘Ayes’ in the upcoming election – when it happened.
Somalia’s President, unlike the Republic of Somaliland’s 1P-1V elections, is picked by the parliament whose MPs were selected by small clan pockets that call themselves electoral bodies/colleges.
