AFGOYE, Somalia (AXADLE) – Clan tensions ran high on Saturday night when at least five members of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) were slain in Afgoye, some 30 kilometers from Mogadishu.
Residents recounted to Kaab TV a dramatic scene as gunmen, possibly connected to the Somali government, stormed the house of a NISA officer, resulting in a deadly confrontation with his guards.
The officer, along with four guards, met a grim fate during the assault.
Local witnesses shared heart-wrenching details of the attack, which also claimed the lives of two children and left several, including an elderly woman, caught in the crossfire.
Eyewitnesses suggest the strike was carried out by NISA players hailing from Mogadishu.
In protest, local elders rallied on Sunday, lamenting the midnight raid that took a toll on the Galadi clan of the Rahanweyn.
Abdirahman Shaam, a local, reported the harrowing abduction of seven area men, who remain unaccounted for after the chaotic night.
Following these tragic events, unrest surged through Afgoye, spurring protests from victims’ families and townsfolk alike.
Silence marks the official response, with no comments yet from either the Somali government or the South West State authorities.
The fallen officers’ bodies remain in stasis as families halt burials, demanding justice first.
This grim raid shadows President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s return from Asmara in Eritrea, amid whispers of strategic plans against opposition factions and rivaling clans.
Turmoil between South West State, encompassing Afgoye, and Hassan Sheikh’s administration continues, rooted in its Ethiopian kinship, opposing Mogadishu’s Egyptian ties.
Whether this Afgoye incident is a direct ticket to these broader political rifts remains to be seen.
