Another delegate dies mysteriously in Nairobi

A delegate attending the ongoing Somali peace talks in Kenya has died, just two weeks after the mysterious murder in Nairobi of a senior member of Somalia's Transitional National Government. Ahmad Rashid Muhammad, a Somali with Canadian citizenship, reportedly collapsed and died early on Thursday morning at the Kenya College of Communication Technology (KCCT), Mbagathi, the venue of the talks. A statement from the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the facilitator of the talks, said the cause of the delegate's death was still unclear, and police were investigating "this unfortunate incident". The statement, signed by John Lanyasunya, Kenya's special envoy to Somalia and chairman of the IGAD facilitation committee, appealed for calm among the anxious delegates, promising that "no stone will be left unturned to ascertain whether Ahmad either died of natural causes or otherwise". Meanwhile, security would be strengthened in the conference venue and areas of accommodation for the delegates, Lanyasunya added. According to a Somali source in Mbagathi, the delegate was seen staggering and gasping for air moments before he collapsed on the floor of KCCT restaurant, injuring his chin. "It is too early to speculate on what killed him, unless further tests are done," the source said. The source, who declined to be named for security reasons, said Ahmad was not an influential faction leader, but was active at the talks, representing one of the two major factions of the Rahanweyn Resistance Army controlling the Baidoa region of southwestern Somalia. Although his death was not expected to have a major impact on the talks, it was still likely to increase mistrust and suspicion among the various rival factions, he added. Last month, another Somali delegate was found murdered in a forest on the outskirts of Nairobi. The body of Shaykh Ibrahim Ali Abdulle, a prominent Mogadishu-based businessman and member of Somalia's Transitional National Assembly, was on 19 October found with a bullet wound in the head in the Ololua forest, alongside the bodies of two Kenyans. The police have since arrested a Kenyan member of parliament in connection with the murder. Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged Somali leaders to persevere with their search for an agreement on a viable and inclusive national government. Somalia has had no central governing authority since civil war broke out in the country in 1991, with the overthrow of former President Muhammad Siyad Barre. "Somali leaders face the historic challenge of bridging their differences in order to reach agreement on a viable government. I urge them to continue their dialogue to ensure an inclusive solution that they can all support and implement in good faith," Annan said in his latest report to the UN Security Council. "The international community is becoming increasingly impatient with the continued conflict and violence in Somalia," he noted. Annan's report also expressed concern over recent incidents of violence in the capital, Mogadishu, including the rape of children and the dismemberment of a young woman. "Mounting criminality in Mogadishu includes frequent abductions, carjackings and civilian deaths," he said.