Opposition leader shot at and arrested in Somalia

Abdirahman Abdishakur, the opposition leader was shot and arrested in Somalia ( Courtesy)

MOGADISHU—Former presidential candidate and the opposition leader, Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame  was shot at and arrested by government forces.

NISA agents raided his house in Mogadishu where he was reportedly having a meeting with Wadajir party member of Parliament.

He was injured on the hands and is now being held at NISA headquarters. His arrest comes at the wake of the Attorney General seeking the arrest  of Members of Parliament for an alleged treasonable charges amid clamp down on the opposition.

The NISA forces have also shot and killed four of Abdirahman’s bodyguards.

Somali government had accused Mr Abdishakur for putting the country on  political mood and helping section terror groups  that have been destabilizing the government’s effort to create  a safe and peaceful environment for the Somali people.

“Let us stop the propaganda that is being spread, Warsame’s arrest is not tribal, rather a nation security measure,” Ali Mohamed, a NISA official said.

Somalia is famous for cracking down on officials of the opposition factions who the government considers threat to its existence.

Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame was born in Somalia in 1953. In 1994 he left the country to study in the United States of America.

He later established Somali concern group with other key members of United Kingdom based Somali activists. He was elected as the executive director of Northern London Muslim Welfare Center.

Mr Abdirahman returned to Somalia in 2007 and served as the chairman of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia(ARS).