Somalia
Somalia: Baidoa security tightened as Speaker arrives
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Nov 13, 2008 - 11:19:34 AM

BAIDOA, Somalia Nov 13 (Garowe Online) - Somalia’s parliament Speaker, Sheikh Adan “Madobe” Mohamed, arrived in the southwestern town of Baidoa after spending recent weeks in Kenya, Radio Garowe reported Thursday.

Government forces tightened security in and around Baidoa as the Speaker’s delegation, which included 12 lawmakers, flew in safely from Nairobi.

Last month, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) invited the entire Somali parliament to Nairobi for a conference with IGAD leaders.

Kenyan media has reported that dozens of Somali MPs are still in Nairobi, after complaining that IGAD did not pay for hotel and transportation expenses as pledged.

Baidoa police killed two suspects yesterday in a security crackdown, officials said.

Deputy police commandant Col. Adan Bariyow told Radio Garowe that one of the suspects killed a soldier and the second suspect was involved in a grenade attack on a lawmaker’s Baidoa home. Full story

Somalia has been mired in armed conflict for nearly two decades. An Islamist-led rebellion has challenged the Ethiopian-backed interim government's authority to rule the country.

Source: Garowe Online