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Turkish leader delays trip to Somalia over death of Saudi Arabia King

Xinhua, January 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan postponed his visit to Somalia on Friday following the death of Saudi Arabia King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

"The president confirmed the visit of president Erdogan of Turkey has been postponed due to the death of the King Abdullah, as many Muslim world leaders are heading to Saudi Arabia to attend the funeral," said a statement from the Somali presidency.

"I extend my sincere condolences to the Muslim world for this loss. King Abdullah was a friend and a hero to all Somali people. Somalia will never forget his support to our people and country during the hard times we went through," said Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

Government spokesman Daud Aweis earlier said the visit was postponed, and clarified that it was not linked to the Thursday attack on a hotel in Mogadishu in which at least five people were killed.

"Yesterday's attack did not cause the postponement of the arrival of Turkish president but came following the death of King of Saudi Arabia last night, and both Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Turkish President Erdogan will attend the funeral of the King," said the spokesman.

Erdogan is due in Somalia on Friday, his second visit to the Horn of African nation. The first was made in 2011 when he served as Turkish prime minister. Endi