Gunmen in Mogadishu on Tuesday shot dead a brother-in-law of Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi in one of five killings in the past 24 hours in the lawless capital, witnesses said.
Four heavily armed attackers followed Yusuf Mohamed Dhisow, a businessman, as he left his house in northern Mogadishu before overtaking him, blocking his car and opening fire, an AFP journalist witnessed.
A member of the prime minister's family confirmed that the husband of Ayan Mohamed Gedi was killed in the Bakara market, the main Mogadishu market in the south of the city.
"We do not know who is behind this killing, but it was apparently a planned execution," Abukar Gaal, one of the slain man's cousins, told AFP.
"We think he was targeted because of his relationship with the prime minister and there are widespread fears that government officials and their relatives are being targeted."
The high-profile death was one of five separate killings reported in Mogadishu in the past 24 hours.
The coastal city has seen a surge in attacks and fighting since joint Somali-Ethiopian forces ousted a powerful Islamist movement late last year.
Thousands of terrified residents have fled and dozens have died since the start of the year.
At least 10,000 people have fled violence in Mogadishu since the beginning of February, according to latest report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
In the NBC neighborhood of Mogadishu, Ahmed Xirsi Mahamed the head of the militia in the area was also killed after gunmen ambushed him after dark, many residents in the area said that Ahmed left the masjid after magrib prayers, Four other businessmen were also killed in the Bakara market.
KC
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