Somali police commissioner dies in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Kasmaal– The Somali police commissioner Gen. Mohamed Sheikh Hassan Ismail died in the country’s capital Mogadishu after he was rushed to a hospital by his aides, officials confirmed Thursday.

The President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud sent condolences to the people of Somalia and ordered emergency investigation.

Speaking to the government’s Radio Mogadishu from Abu Dhabi, the president called the death “a sudden shock”.

The Somalia Prime Minister’s office confirmed the death of the commissioner and formed a ministerial commission to investigate the sudden death of the police commissioner who was a close ally to the Prime Minister.

“We are shocked by the sudden death of Commissioner Gen. Mohamed Sheikh Hassan Ismail,” said the Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed.

“On behalf of the government and the people of Somalia I send a heartfelt condolence to the family, friends and the entire people of Somalia for the death of the commissioner,” he added.

The Prime Minister nominated a Committee consisting of five ministers to lead the investigation of the death of the commissioner who was unexpectedly fell and died in his normal daily business.

The committee let by the deputy Premier Ridwan Hassan Mohamed consists of the Health Minister Ali Mohamed Mohamud, the Information Minister Mustaf Sheikh Ali Dhuhulow, the Home Security Minister Khalif Ahmed Ereg and the Agriculture Minister Abdi Ahmed Baffo.

Sources close to the committee confirmed to Xinhua that the ministers ordered the body of the fallen police commissioner to be taken to a Turkish hospital in Mogadishu for investigation. The source also confirmed that several people including the workers of the restaurant in which the commissioner had lunch and several of his closest staff were arrested for investigation and are interrogated in the Criminal Investigation Department.

The commissioner was nominated in July after his predecessor was fired due to failure to prevent an attack to the Presidential Palace in Mogadishu which killed three soldiers and three suicide bombers.

The death of the commissioner is coming at a critical time when the president of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed are in a constitutional dispute over a reshuffle of the cabinet ministers, which the PM made last week and the president called illegal.

Kasmaalinformation center/mogadishu/somalia