Thursday 2,Jan, 2025 {HMC} Traditional elders from the Hawadle and Abgal clans reached an agreement on Thursday to bury the six federal government soldiers killed in a clan revenge attack in El-Baraf district, Middle Shabelle region.
The agreement was brokered during a high-level meeting in Beledweyne, Hiiraan, led by prominent elders Ugaas Yusuf Ugas Hassan and Iman Dahir Iman Omar. Federal officials, including Petroleum and Minerals Minister Dahir Shire, federal Parliament members representing the Hawadle clan, and NISA Director Abdullahi Sambaloolshe, were also in attendance.
Muhyadin Hassan Afrah, an Abgal clan elder, confirmed the agreement. “In a meeting this morning with the Hawadle clan chief, intellectuals, and politicians, we agreed to bury the bodies first and then work together to address the remaining issues,” Afrah said.
The burial agreement follows reluctance from Beledweyne elders to inter the bodies until the perpetrators were brought to justice. However, the move is seen as a step toward de-escalating tensions while maintaining pressure for accountability.
Prime Minister Hamse Abdi Barre has reiterated the federal government’s commitment to justice, rejecting any resolution through familial or tribal negotiations. He emphasized that the killings fall under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government and Hirshabelle State and vowed to hold the perpetrators accountable.
The six soldiers, members of the Hawadle clan, were reportedly ambushed and executed by suspected clan militia fighters while on leave and traveling to their families in Hiiraan. Witnesses reported that the attackers shot the soldiers in the head in what appeared to be a calculated act of revenge.
