* AU say draft law adoption key to Somalia recovery road map (Adds
conference approves, AU reaction)
By Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar
MOGADISHU, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Two suicide bombers attacked a conference in
Somalia on Wednesday but failed to stop delegates agreeing a new draft
constitution that is meant to help the violence-torn East African country
return to stability.
One bomber killed six security officers, while the other was shot and killed
before he could detonate his bomb, police said.
Al Shabaab, Somalia's al Qaeda-linked group, said it was behind the attack
and that it had succeeded in killing Somali and African Union troops.
"The two bombers wore government uniform," Colonel Mohamed Ali, a police
officer, told Reuters.
"One jumped over a wall opposite the conference building but he was shot
dead outside the gate. Then another bomber jumped from another wall and his
bomb exploded where government soldiers stood."
Delegates at the Mogadishu conference continued with their discussions and
later adopted a provisional constitution, seen as a step forward on the road
to national recovery.
"We were behind the bombing. Two Mujahideen suicide bombers did it. We have
killed a number of AMISOM and Somali troops," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, the
spokesman for Al Shabaab's military operation told Reuters.
"We had also targeted the conference with a landmine explosion before. We
shall target the constitution conference and its members one by one."
Although weakened, al Shabaab is the most powerful of an array of militias
spawned by the conflict in Somalia, where armed groups have a history of
wrecking attempted political settlements and perpetuating war, instability
and famine.
The African Union's peacekeeping force in Somalia hopes to drive the
militants out of the country's central and southern regions this month, when
the U.N.-backed government's mandate expires.
ROAD MAP
Under the terms of a political road map, Somalia must establish a legitimate
government seen as inclusive by the country's fractious clans, as well as a
new parliament and constituent assembly to replace institutions plagued by
corruption and infighting.
The 825-member National Constituent Assembly, which has been sitting in
Mogadishu for the last week, approved the provisional constitution by a show
of hands.
It will replace an 8-year old Transitional Federal Charter and lead to the
conclusion of the transition process on August 20.
The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union
Commission for Somalia, Boubacar Diarra, said the draft would be subjected
to a nationwide referendum as soon as the security situation improved.
"Today is the culmination of years of hard work by the Somali people with
the support of the international community," Diarra said in a statement.
Al Shabaab was driven out of Mogadishu late last year and is struggling to
hold on to territory elsewhere in the face of attacks by Kenyan, Ethiopian
and African Union forces trying to prevent Islamist militancy spreading out
from Somalia. (Additional reporting by Mohamed Ahmed; Writing by James
Macharia; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
C Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved
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Received on Wed Aug 01 2012 - 15:35:14 EDT
