The organizer and sister of Nobel Peace Prize-nominated activist Ilwad Elman was shot dead while riding in a car on Wednesday.
Almaas Elman, a prominent Somali rights activist and organizer was killed today in Mogadishu. She died after being hit by a bullet while riding inside of a car in the Halane compound, reports the Somali news site Hiiraan.
Though details surrounding her death remain uncertain, according to security on the ground Elman “was riding in a car along a road inside the airport,” Mohamed Omar, a Somali security official told News 24. “A stray bullet hit her, and she died within a few minutes.” The complex is also the headquarters of African Union soldiers.
She was believed to been heading to the airport after attending a meeting at the Elman Peace Centre, which was founded by her father, the respected Somali activist Elman Ali Ahmed, who was assassinated in Mogadishu in 1996.
It is unclear who fired off the bullet, and some reports say that Elman may have been assassinated in a targeted attack.
Elman came from a long line of activists. She was the sister of Nobel Peace Prize-nominated organizer Ilwad Elman. She became a dual Canadian and Somali citizen after her family fled to Canada in the early 1990s during the Somali Civil War.
Together with her sister and mother, Elman was helping run the family’s foundation, a non-profit “dedicated to promoting peace, cultivating leadership and empowering the marginalized brackets of society to be decision-makers in the processes that ensure their wellbeing,” as described on the organization’s website.
Elman was previously the first secretary at the Somali embassy in Kenya, according to Hiiraan.
Heartfelt words of condolence have been pouring in for Elman since the news broke, and many are demanding answers around the events that led to her tragic death. We will keep you updated as more details arise.
Source: okayafrica
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