Somali Mortars Fired At US Congressman Donald Payne

by Rachel Nixon | April 13, 2009 at 09:45 am

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US Congressman Donald Payne had a narrow escape on a visit to Somalia after insurgents fired mortars towards his plane as he left the capital Mogadishu.

"One mortar landed at the airport when Payne's plane was due to fly and five others after he left and no one was hurt," Abukar Hassan, a police officer at Mogadishu airport, told Reuters.

The congressman had been meeting with members of the Somali government and discussing ways that the international community might help the country. He also discussed the recently resolved hostage drama when US forces shot dead three Somali pirates who had been holding American ship captain Richard Phillips for five days.

Donald Payne was due to return to the US on Tuesday.

Officials say this was not a typical congressional delegation trip (CODEL) with members of both parties traveling on government aircraft. Payne flew commercially to Africa and was only expected to be on the ground in Somalia four to five hours. Payne is traveling with an Africa expert from the Library of Congress. An aide says Payne was on the tour in his role as chairman of the House subcommittee on Africa and Global Health.

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