By ABDULKADIR KHALIF

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Somalia's Foreign Minister Abdisaid Muse Ali escaped unhurt following a Thursday evening attack in Galkayo town in Puntland, 750 km north of the Somali capital Mogadishu.

The minister claimed it was an attempt on his life.

Reports from the town indicate that armed confrontations erupted at a compound owned by clan elder Yasin Abdisamad, who had hosted the minister and his family for Iftar – the evening fast-breaking ritual in the Holy Month of Ramadan.

Several people were killed and other injured in the attack carried out by forces loyal to the local administration of Puntland, one of the Federal Member States of Somalia, that controls the northern portion of the town.

In the confrontation, one of the minister’s bodyguards was killed while the clan elder Abdisamad sustained injuries.

Following the attack, Governor of Puntland’s Mudug region, Abdilatif Muse Nur, blamed the minister for causing the confrontation.

“I want to tell the public in Puntland and the Somali people at large, that the confrontation in Galkayo town was provoked by the Somalia Foreign Minister Abdisaid Muse Ali, who came to the town to propagate unproductive policies,” said Governor Nur. 

However, locals indicate that that clan elder Abdisamad was not in good terms with Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni who is currently campaigning in Mogadishu to become the next federal president of Somalia.

Reports indicate that Clan elder Nur was one of the influential people who advised Deni to relinquish his post in Puntland if he is vying for Somalia’s top post.