Somali woman MP famed for political songs shot dead by Islamists

23 July 2014 - 17:53 By REUTERS
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Residents of Mogadishu remove the body of female MP and former singer Sado Ali Warsame after gunmen opened fire at her car on July 23, 2014 killing her and her driver in Somalia's capital Mogadishu.
Residents of Mogadishu remove the body of female MP and former singer Sado Ali Warsame after gunmen opened fire at her car on July 23, 2014 killing her and her driver in Somalia's capital Mogadishu.
Image: AFP PHOTO/MOHAMED ABDIWAHAB

A Somali member of parliament famed for political and patriotic songs she sang over decades was shot dead on Wednesday in Mogadishu by Islamist gunmen, a fellow lawmaker and Islamist rebels said.

"Gunmen killed MP Saado Ali Warsame and another clerk for the parliament," legislator Dahir Amin Jesow said, referring to the well-known singer, believed to be in her 70s. She was one of fewer than 30 women MPs in the 275-seat parliament, MPs said.

The Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility.

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