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MALTATODAY 6 February 2019

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maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 6 FEBRUARY 2019 3 NEWS MATTHEW AGIUS AND KURT SANSONE THE Maltese man murdered in Somalia was in the coun- try legally, despite claims to the contrary by the group that owned up to the killing, sourc- es in Mogadishu said. Paul Anthony Formosa, 52, from Marsaskala worked as project manager for P&O Ports, a subsidiary of Dubai- based DP World, which was entrusted with developing the port of Bossasso. Formosa was the face for the controversial concession that P&O was awarded in April 2017 by the regional govern- ment of Puntland, a semi-au- tonomous region of Somalia. A source in the Somali capi- tal of Mogadishu told Malta- Today that the assassination had all the trademarks of an Al-Shabaab killing. Formosa was killed on Mon- day after two armed gunmen shot him at close range while he was on his way to the port. He is reported to have died in hospital. "As a result of licencing and legal aspects in Puntland, For- mosa's protection was pro- vided by the local police rather than commercial security enti- ties," the source said. Al-Shabaab extorts protec- tion money from businesses to finance its terrorist operations and those who do not pay get killed or attacked, the source added. It is clear that P&O would not pay. Al-Shabaab's military op- erations claimed that Formosa was staying in the country ille- gally. "We had warned him but he turned a deaf ear. He was ille- gally in Somalia," Abdiasis Abu Musab was reported to have said. The terrorist organisation in- sisted that the attack was part of broader operations targeting "the mercenary companies that loot the Somali resources". But the source said Formosa was in Somalia in accordance with the country's immigra- tion law, despite Al-Shabaab's claim. "Al-Shabaab tried to exploit the controversy over the port concession to defend its ac- tions," the source said. The Puntland government awarded P&O Ports a 30-year concession worth $336 million for the management and de- velopment of Bossasso port in April 2017. The company had to develop the port in two phases. Work on the project involved build- ing a 450-metre quay and a five-hectare back up area. It also included a major in- vestment in IT, mobile harbour cranes and container handling equipment. Formosa was responsible for the project, having gained ex- perience over the years on port services. He started on the job in 2017. However, the project was shrouded in controversy with corruption claims being lev- elled at Puntland President Abdiweli Gaas. In November 2017, a dispute erupted over increased port charges that culminated in the port being shut for more than a week. According to reports in So- malia, P&O Ports increased freight-handling charges five- fold, leading to protests by cargo operators and livestock exporters. In August last year, Puntland legislators rejected a motion to end the P&O Ports deal, which was tabled by 20 MPs. The pro- ponents of the motion claimed that contractual obligations had not been adhered to. However, the state assembly voted down the motion. When he was murdered, Formosa was caught up in the middle of local controversy over the port deal in a country that is plagued by instability and terrorist activity. The source speaking to Mal- taToday said that on the same morning as Formosa's killing, a car bomb killed 11 in Moga- dishu, a businessperson was shot when he declined to pay a soldier money in the Somali capital and a woman's rights activist was injured in the Puntland capital of Garowe. The Maltese man, who worked at the Freeport un- til 2011, appears to have been caught in the crosshairs of So- mali political bickering. Formosa was described by people who knew him as a hard worker and very diligent. He lived in Marsaskala with his wife. He had two daughters. After leaving the Freeport in 2011, Formosa worked as op- erations manager at the Syrian port of Lattakia. The Formosa family declined to release a statement when contacted by this newspaper. Formosa's security detail might have warned of risk In comments to MaltaToday, Mohamed Abdalla, a Somali journalist and head of the So- mali Broadcasting Company, indicated that the security de- tail assigned to protecting For- mosa might have warned him of the risk to his life. Abdalla said it appeared that the Maltese national had been targeted specifically because of the port project he was in- volved in. "The place where he was killed is very close to Bossasso port. It is a very well secured place, and we know he had very good protection, but he him- self hadn't realised the degree of risk of this attack happen- ing," he said. "The target of the attack was mainly him," he underscored, "His security detail told him that they had information that… he might be killed if he didn't leave the country." "There was high security in the area he was staying in, and it was getting tighter day after day. I think they were aware that there was a target on him, but definitely they did not feel that it could happen in this way." Asked whether it was the police or commercial security operators who were protection Formosa, Abdalla could not say for certain. "The investigation is still on- going. At this stage it is diffi- cult to know exactly," he said, "Everything can happen… [So- malia] is a country in a very critical situation, and there has been no central government since 1991, so everyone can be everything." "The people have guns, so it is possible that people who were not happy with the project or how it is being implemented could have done this," Abdalla added. Formosa addressing a ceremony where P&O Ports formally took over Bossasso port "Formosa's assassination had all the trademarks of an Al-Shabaab killing" Paul Anthony Formosa from Marsaskala fronted a controversial port project in Somalia and was in the country legally when he was killed by terrorists, sources tell MaltaToday P&O Ports increased freight-handling charges five-fold at Bossasso Port

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