Families pay tribute as rabbi and ex-Somali prime minister are latest Londoners to die amid coronavirus outbreak

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Tributes: Nur Adde led Somalia between 2007 to 2009 and Rabbi Uri Ashkenazi led a small Orthodox Jewish community

A former prime minister of Somalia and a rabbi were today named among the latest Londoners believed to have lost their lives to coronavirus as tributes poured in.

Nur Hassan Hussein, known as Nur Adde, led Somalia between 2007 to 2009 and was hailed today as “a unifier” and a “gentleman” as his family announced that he had died in King’s College Hospital in south London.

Mr Adde, 82, is understood to have been admitted five days ago suffering symptoms of Covid-19 and lost his life despite his family saying that he “did his best” in the fight to survive.

London Rabbi Uri Ashkenazi, 76, who led a small Orthodox Jewish community, the Stanislaver steibl, in Stamford Hill, also lost his life.

He is reported to have contracted coronavirus and be among the 728 Londoners to have died with the illness so far.

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The capital’s death toll rose by 138 yesterday and accounts for about a third of the UK total of 2,352 fatalities.

Others whose deaths have already been announced include Ismail Mohammed Abdulwahab, 13, from Brixton, who died this week in King’s College Hospital. The suffering being inflicted on families was highlighted further today as bereaved relatives and friends spoke of their sadness.

Mr Adde’s son Mohamed Nour Adde confirmed that his father had died in a statement that sparked tributes from across Somalia’s political divides.

The current Somali prime minister Hassan Ali Kheyre wrote on his Twitter account: “We extend our most profound condolences to the Somali people, friends and bereaved family of Somalia’s former prime minister Nur Hassan Hussein who passed away in London.”

Mr Adde began his career as a police officer, rising up the political ranks to become attorney general until 1991, when civil war broke out. He later served as head of the nation’s humanitarian Red Crescent society before becoming prime minister.

He formed an “all-inclusive” transitional federal government as Somalia battled the al Shabaab Islamist insurgent group, bringing the nation’s major clans together to sign of a peace treaty a year later.

Rashdi Abdi, an expert on African politics, said: “He was a true patriot and gentleman. A unifier. From the same pedigree as Aden Adde, Somalia’s best loved historical leader.”

Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has declared three days of national mourning.

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Rabbi Ashkenazi’s death, which follows the loss of another London Rabbi, Neil Kraft, to Covid-19 earlier this week, was described as a “huge loss for the Jewish community and people at large”.

Rabbi Herschel Gluck OBE, president of the Jewish neighbourhood watch group Shomrim, said Rabbi Ashkenazi had been admitted to hospital reportedly suffering from coronavirus symptoms. He added that his colleague “led by example, not by being on a pedestal”.

Friend Joe Mankowitz, who had known the rabbi for three decades, said that his death left a “great void”.

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