Somali govt forces execute eight young health workers in Middle Shabelle

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Somali govt forces execute eight young health workers in Middle Shabelle

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Somali national army on Wednesday executed eight young professionals in a cold blooded manner following an al-Shabaab attack in Gololey village in Bal'ad District, Middle Shabelle region, relatives and eyewitnesses told

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PHOTO File: Somali National Army (SNA) during an operation in Middle Shabelle region.

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Somali national army on Wednesday executed eight young professionals in a cold blooded manner following an al-Shabaab attack in Gololey village in Bal'ad District, Middle Shabelle region, relatives and eyewitnesses told Horn Observer.

The soldiers from the national military raided the small agricultural village on Wednesday and took the eight young men working at the village's community health centre, according to Bashir Mohamed Ali, a resident in Gololey. They were all shot dead and their bodies dumped in a nearby bush.

"The military men who were masked abducted the young health workers yesterday [Wednesday]. All the eight men were shot in a cold blooded manner. This is a massacre against Gololey community," Bashir said "We had retrieved the bodies from the nearby bush. They were shot on the head."

Residents and elders told Horn Observer that prior to the military raid on Wednesday, the Somali military came under a bomb attack by the al-Qaeda-linked militant group al-Shabaab killing unknown number of soldiers.

"The military attacked us after the blast near Gololey. They were very angry. The detained the young men from different places. I know the pharmacist Mohamed Omar Bore is among the victims," elder Hassan Abdinur told Horn Observer.

Majority of the victims were working at the community health centre supported by a local non-governmental organisation.

"How come the government forces are killing the civilians whom they were meant to protect. It is like al-Shabaab and the government are the same. They are not different," Halima Abdi Mohamud who said her cousin is among the victims told Horn Observer.

Halima said, the residents of the small village could hear gunshots shortly after the eight young men were taken out of their homes on Wednesday.

ESCAPED DEATH

Abdisalam Haji Gas, 25-years-old had nearly escaped death after the military came his home in the village on Wednesday. He was not at the home but his younger brother Nur was there resulting the soldiers to detain Nur since they cannot find Abdisalam. Nur, alongside the seven others was shot on the head.

"I was nor at home when they raided the home. My brother was sitting outside. They took him alleging that he was al-Shabaab. They killed him," Abdisalam told Horn Observer "I nearly escaped death."

Family members of the victims and community elders have denied the military allegations that Gololey community sympathises al-Shabaab militants who are active in the area.

The Ministry of Information of the Somali Federal Government, in a statement condemned the attack and called it as barbaric and an acceptable act of terror. The Ministry also called for a full scale probe into the incident and its perpetrators.

Later on Thursday, the retrieved bodies were sent to Mogadishu for further investigation as public wrath erupts in both in Gololey village and in the capital.