Swiss national shot dead in Somaliland

A Swiss national was killed by gunmen on Monday night in Hargeysa, the capital of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, northwestern Somalia, according to local sources. The 29-year-old man was identified as Yuti Martin, a Swiss businessman who was in Hargeysa to set up a poultry project with Somali business associates, the sources told IRIN on Thursday. He was killed when gunmen opened fire while he was standing in front of a restaurant. "A number of rounds were fired, but only three hit him in the chest," the source said. The motive for the killing is unknown, but six suspects are in police custody "helping police with their investigations", Abdullahi Muhammad Duale, the Somaliland information minister told IRIN on Thursday. The president of Somaliland, Dahir Riyale Kahin, had sent condolences to the family of the deceased and to the people of Switzerland, expressing deep regret "for this senseless act", Duale said. "The president instructed the security forces to conduct a through investigation, apprehend the culprits and bring them to book," he added. Duale said the six suspects being held, all men, "will hopefully provide the answers as to why he was killed". A comprehensive statement would be issued once the investigations were complete. Martin's body was sent home on Wednesday on a Somaliland chartered aircraft via Addis Ababa, where it was transferred to a Lufthansa flight to Switzerland, Duale told IRIN.