MOGADISHU: Mortar shells struck residential neighbourhoods near the presidential palace in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Sunday shortly after parliament convened to approve the recently appointed cabinet, underlining the security challenges confronting the new government.

In addition to a looming famine, the Horn of Africa nation also faces a grinding Islamist insurgency, with Al Shabaab militants ratcheting up their attacks in recent months.

On Sunday, as parliament met to approve Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre’s 75-member cabinet, which includes a former Al Shabaab deputy leader, several rounds of mortar shells landed near the presidential palace, according to a security official and a witness. “We have no recorded casualties so far as investigations are ongoing,” district security official Mohamed Abdifatah said. One of the rounds damaged a medical facility in the area, according to an onlooker.

“One of the mortar rounds struck in the midst of the Xararyaale intersection and another hit a hospital close by,” Abdikadir Yare, a witness, said.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2022