Noted Somali activist Almaas Elman has been shot and killed, according to Somalian news outlets.
The organizer was fatally struck by a bullet while inside a vehicle in the capital city of Mogadishu, reports OkayAfrica. While information regarding her death is scarce, security officials present at the compound where she was killed said she was hit by a stray bullet and died within minutes. Elman was reportedly heading to the airport following a meeting at the Elman Peace Center.
Speculations are also circling that this may have been an assassination attempt.
Elman came from a family of organizers and activists; she was the daughter of esteemed activist Elman Ali Ahmed who was assassinated in Mogadishu in 1996, and the sister of Nobel Peace Prize-nominated leader Ilwad Elman.
With the help of her mother and sister, Elman ran the peace center as a means of ending ongoing violence in her home country.
Many on social media have already posted messages in honor of the fallen organizer.
Horrific news and so incredibly sad to hear the murder of Almaas Elman in Mogadishu today. Somali women have done and continue to do SO MUCH both in the region & the diaspora and my heart goes out to @IlwadElman & the @ElmanPeaceHRC family. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un ???????? pic.twitter.com/J52GLg7373
— Hanna Ali (@HannaAli) November 20, 2019
Today, we're honoring the life of #AlmaasElman, a Somali-Canadian activist who was killed in Mogadishu, Somalia this week. Elman's lineage is filled with courageous peace activists, such as her father Elman Ali Ahmed & sister @IlwadElman.
????️ We remember you, Almaas. pic.twitter.com/vb0WQwd2dY
— Our Generation for Inclusive Peace (@ourgenpeace) November 21, 2019
May Allah have mercy on Almaas and give the Elman family strength and patience. Truly heartbreaking. Inalilahi wa inailayhi rajiuun.
— Yasin Osman (@yescene) November 20, 2019
Almas Elman, you were a gift Allah SWT shared with us. Kind hearted and such a sweet soul. May Allah SWT forgive you. May Allah SWT grant you the higest rank of Jannah. May Allah SWT fill your grave up with noor. May Allah give your loved one sabr and iman.
— Ikram A. Isse (@IkramIsse) November 20, 2019
Deputy Commissioner of the Somali Police Force Brigadier General Zakia Hussein said investigations into the shooting are underway.
