The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), yesterday commenced preliminary investigations into the heart-wrenching and unfortunate death of Ms. Almaas Elman Ali Ahmed, former Somali Diplomat and Peace Activist who was hit by a bullet at 14.34 hrs on November 20, 2019 at the Halane Base camp in Mogadishu.

The deceased had contracted the services of a private transport company for a meeting within the Base camp. They were travelling to the Aden Abdulle International Airport after the meeting when she was hit by a bullet.

There were a total of 3 people in the vehicle – a driver, a non-injured passenger and the deceased who was in the back seat behind the driver in a right hand soft-skin vehicle. The bullet pierced the rear passenger window of the vehicle and injured Ms. Elman who was pronounced dead on arrival at the AMISOM Level II hospital.

AMISOM immediately constituted a Board of inquiry, which has already visited the scene of the incident and interviewed the driver and some identified eyewitnesses.

Pending a final report, preliminary investigations indicate Ms. Elman was hit by a stray bullet, especially as no firearm discharge was reported within the Base camp at the time of the incident. The Base camp in the past has recorded similar incidents of stray bullets.

AMISOM will work jointly with the FGS, Somali security forces and other agencies to fully investigate the incident. The findings will be shared with the public.