Somalia: Shabaab shells parliamentary session

Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the mortar attack that targeted the Somali parliament yesterday while the country’s newly elected lawmakers were meeting for the second time since taking office.

Mortar shells landed near the parliament building in the capital Mogadishu, injuring several people. No lawmakers were injured during the attack.

Officials had been discussing setting dates for parliamentary elections to choose speakers for the lower and upper houses and the next stage in a process to elect the new president. They had agreed to elect the speaker of the Upper House on 26 April and that of the Lower House the following day.

This comes after members of the Senate and the House of the People were sworn in on Thursday.

“We have no details yet but these explosions were caused by mortar fire, the legislators were safe and unharmed inside the building when the incident occurred,” a security officer, who asked not to be named, told AFP.

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