Baidoa (AX) — The search for a missing five-year-old girl ended in tragedy after her body was discovered near her family’s home in Baidoa, South West State, police and relatives said.
Ikhlaas Ibrahim Amin was found late Friday afternoon at a maternal and child health centre beside her family’s home in the Xaqsoor neighbourhood, two days after she disappeared.
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Police said three people — two women and a young man — had been detained in connection with the case. No formal charges have been announced.
Ikhlaas’s family reported her missing at about 2 p.m. on Wednesday, prompting security forces to search Baidoa and nearby areas for two days.
Ibrahim Mohamed Amin, a relative, said the family observed injuries that appeared to suggest the girl had been beaten and strangled with a rope. Authorities have not disclosed the findings of a medical examination.
Her body was transported to Bay Regional Hospital, where doctors are conducting an examination to establish the cause of death.
South West leader Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur Madobe has reportedly instructed police and intelligence agencies to investigate the case as a matter of urgency and pursue anyone found responsible.
An official from the South West presidency said Aden Madobe was seeking a swift conclusion to the investigation so the family could secure justice.
A police official said one of those detained worked as a security guard at the building where Ikhlaas’s body was discovered.
“The investigation is ongoing, and they are attempting to determine exactly what happened to the girl and who is responsible for her death,” police said.
Ikhlaas’s family was among displaced households moved in July to newly built housing in Baidoa’s Xaqsoor area.
The family is calling for a complete account of how Ikhlaas died, the identification of those responsible and the prosecution of all people involved.
