A small plane carrying Qat, mildnarcotic leaves, crash-landed in an airstrip near Somalia's capital of Mogadishu Tuesday after it was shot at several times as it tried to land in airport in the southern Somali town of Kismayo, witnesses and local media reports said.
Qat dealers in k50 airstrip, where the plane landed, said that there were no casualties but several shots were on the body of the plane, which arrived at the airport losing much fuel on the way.
"It touched down with smoke pillowing from it as if it caught fire," said Mohamoud Ali, a Qat dealer at the k50 airport, nearly 50 km southwest of Mogadishu, where a similar plane carrying Qat crashed last week killing all three crew members.
Local media reports say that Islamist fighters in control of Kismayo have fired on the plane to prevent it from delivering the semi-narcotic leaves into the city because they do not approve of the trade and the consumption of Qat, which they view as being against the teaching of Islam.
Several small planes bring thousands of dollars worth of Qat to Somalia from Kenya, where the plant is grown.
The leaves are consumed in Somalia as a past time in social gathering but has some negative social and economic effects on those who consume and their families.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article