Swedish police have arrested a 57-year-old Somali man suspected of committing war crimes in his home country.
Officials have identified the suspect as Abdi Qeybdiid, a former aide to Somali warlords, and, by some accounts, the recently appointed police chief of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. He was arrested late Sunday in the Swedish town of Lund, where he was attending a conference on rule of law in the Horn of Africa.
Police say Somali refugees recognized Mr. Qeybdiid and filed a complaint denouncing him as a war criminal. He has been taken to the city of Gothenburg for questioning.
Swedish officials say Mr. Qeybdiid is suspected of genocide, though police did not specify what crimes he is accused of committing.
Thousands of Somalis have died in the anarchy that has gripped Somalia since the ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. A transitional government was formed last year but has not yet established authority throughout the country.
