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Mogadishu, Somalia, April 28, 2012 – A South African security trainer
was killed by his bodyguard in Somalia's semiautonomous region of
Puntland, officials said Saturday.
Puntland's government said in a statement Saturday that it had launched
an investigation into Friday's killing. The statement identified the man
as Lodewyk Pietersen, and said he worked for Saracen International, a
security firm that trains anti-piracy forces in Puntland. The statement
said the South African was 55 and married with children.
South African foreign ministry spokesman Clayson Monyela said Saturday
no official word has been received from consular staff handling South
African interests in Somalia.
"We have not yet been alerted to such an incident," he said.
The statement said the trainer was killed while accompanying Puntland's
maritime forces on a government-approved mission targeting pirates near
Hul-Anod, a coastal area favored by pirates who use it as a base to
hijack ships for ransom.
Pietersen was shot dead by his Somali bodyguard after an argument,
according to a Puntland official who requested anonymity because he was
not authorized to comment on the matter. The official said Puntland's
security forces were hunting for the killer.
Somalia's prime minister recently said that al-Qaida-linked militants
were fleeing to mountainous hideouts in Puntland after facing increasing
military pressure around Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.
Somalia, which has not had a functioning central government for more
than two decades, is one of the most dangerous places for foreigners to
work.
Source: AP
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