Relocation plans going ahead despite killing of police chief in Mogadishu

The Interim Somali government, which is based in Nairobi, Kenya, is continuing to plan its relocation to Somalia in early February despite the killing of a senior police officer in Mogadishu on Sunday, sources said.

"There is no question that government plans to relocate will continue," a source in the prime minister's office told IRIN on Tuesday. "As repugnant as the killing is, there is no change of plans."

The cabinet met on Monday to discuss security and has agreed to continue with the relocation plan, the source added. It had initially resolved to start preparations for a return to Somalia during its first formal meeting on 15 January.

Three teams composed of cabinet ministers were formed to start making the necessary arrangements, according to a statement issued on 18 January by the prime minister's office.

"Preparations are already underway to implement the decision of the cabinet," the director of communications in the prime minister's office, Hussein Jabiri, told IRIN at the time. The first team of ministers to leave for the Somali capital, Mogadishu, would "consist of 30 members and will be led by the prime minister", Jabiri added.

No one has so far claimed responsibility for the killing of Gen Yusuf Ahmad Sarinle, who was the acting police chief, a local journalist told IRIN. Sarinle served as deputy police chief under the former Transitional National Government (TNG) and had pledged to support the current government.

Sarinle was the fourth senior police or military officer to be shot dead since September last year, the journalist said.

"The attacks are related to fears by some on the possible deployment of peacekeepers in the country," the journalist added. "These are people who have no interest in the return of peace and stability in Somalia."

All the victims have, at one time or another, called for the deployment of peacekeepers to Somalia and all had served under the TNG, according to the journalist.

The new government, which includes several faction leaders, has not been able to move from Nairobi to Mogadishu, citing security considerations. However, it has come under increasing pressure from the Kenyan government and western diplomats to relocate.

The transitional federal parliament elected Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed as president on 10 October. The election marked the culmination of a two-year reconciliation conference sponsored by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development that brought representatives from various clans and factions together.