It seems fairly clear that the Islamic jihadists of al-Shabaab wanted to send a message to the Somali government as it was “wrapping up a three-day conference on improving security in the capital”: that there is nothing the government can do to improve security or stop its jihad, and that the only thing that Somali parliamentarians can do to be safe is surrender and allow al-Shabaab to govern and impose Islamic law in its fullness.
“Second Somali MP killed in Mogadishu in 24 hours,” AGI, April 22 (thanks to C. Cantoni):
(AGI) Mogadishu, April 22 – A Somali lawmaker was assassinated in Mogadishu on Tuesday in the second attack targeting a member of parliament in 24 hours. The attacks, thought to be by the Al Qaeda-linked Islamic rebels of al-Shabaab, come as the government is wrapping up a three-day conference on improving security in the capital. MP Abdiaziz Isak was shot several times in the capital’s Madina district by two armed men, who escaped. On Monday, another lawmaker was killed when a bomb concealed in his vehicle exploded, wounding another MP. . .