Shoeshine boy shot dead in Mogadishu

In Mogadishu, an 11 year-old shoeshine boy from a minority clan was shot dead by one of his clients after the boy demanded money owed to him, a human rights organisation told IRIN. The shoeshine boy was shot on Saturday in the Towfiq area, north Mogadishu, Maryan Awreye Co-Director of the Isma’il Jim’ale Human Rights Centre said. “This shows that human life in Somalia is not worth much if a small child can be killed like that,” she told IRIN.

The boy had asked the man to pay for previous services. The man drew a pistol “and just shot him”. The man reportedly fled the area and no one knows of his whereabouts, Maryan said. She said death of the boy, who belongs to a minority clan, is unlikely to generate much interest or reaction.

Meanwhile, general security in Mogadishu had improved since Thursday, after a spate of “revenge killings” Awreye told IRIN. “We have had no reports since Thursday of such attacks,” she added. A lot of these incidents were related to people trying to settle scores before the judiciary set up by the interim government took hold, she said. [To commemorate Day of the African Child on 16 June, IRIN has launched a WebSpecial which draws together some of the most important issues shaping a day in the life of an African child, from different regions of the continent. The IRIN WebSpecial: “Day of the African Child - Caring for a Young Future” can be found at http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/webspecials/africanchildday/index.phtml]