Violent deaths frustrate Alberta Somalis

In a Somali restaurant in Fort McMurray last week, Mohamed Ali Osman sipped a cappuccino and talked quietly about his dead son, Robleh Ali Mohamed.

"He was not supposed to die....he should have seen his life, the best time of his life," he said.

On Nov. 29, 2009, Robleh Ali Mohamed, 23, was found dead in the driver's seat of a parked car near 105th Street and 106 Avenue.  The young man had been shot in the head in broad daylight.

"We've lost so many children in Alberta," his father said. "That's a monstrous crime. And no case has been brought to justice up to now."

Mohamed is one of 23 young Somali-Canadian men to die violently in Alberta in the past five years. Like many, he grew up in Ontario and moved to Alberta during the economic boom.

While a few of the victims were not involved in crime, more faced charges or convictions for drugs and weapons. Police believe many were involved in gangs.

Robleh Ali Mohamed too had a criminal record -- even spending two months in jail for cocaine possession and obstructing a police officer. His case is also similar to the others - no one has been arrested and charged in his death.

Task force needed, community members say

The province's Somali community has long called on police to do more to find those responsible.

So far, 2,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Alberta government to form a task force to find ways to solve the cases and prevent more deaths.

Edmonton police have reached out to the city's Somali community in hopes of generating some leads.  The police commission is also offered a $40,000 reward for any tip that leads to a conviction.

But police say a break in the cases will only occur if people from inside and outside the community share what they know.

"If there is a homicide that gets solved, it's because witnesses came forward," said Const. Ken Smith, a community liaison officer with Edmonton Police.

"The police aren't there when it happens. We need people to come forward to us and tell us what happened and then be confident in the police service to be able to investigate the information they provided."

The province has so far rejected the idea of a task force, believing it would cost too much and take too long to show results.