Witnesses missing in Somali murder trial

Thetrial of two men accused of murdering Mohamed Ali Ibrahim at the River Cree Casino two years ago openedamid fears of intimidationand inconsistent testimony.

Themen accused in the killing, Adam Michael Brown and Alexander Reid, pleaded not guiltyto second-degree murder.

The trial is the firstin a string of cases in the Edmonton area where young Somali-Canadian men were killed.

Ibrahim, 24, was shot with a single bullet to the back of the head outside thecasino west of Edmonton on Aug. 30, 2008.

The trial got off to a shaky start Monday when the crown reported two key witnesses did not check in.

The witnesses that did testifytold thecourt they had been drinking that night.

"I didn't see a face or anything like that," said a woman who testified she was just two meters from the shooter.

A second witness also denied seeing the gunman at first.

Witness changes story

Gedi Hussein testified he was having a cigarette outside of the casino the night of the shooting. He told the court he "didn't get a clear view of the shooter."

But after a short break and a review of his statement to police, Hussein describedthe scene vividly.

Hussein saida tall, muscular, but chubby African Canadianapproached the victim with a handgun.He heard gunshots before running off.

In the courtroom, community and family members sat in exasperation.

Community leader Mahamad Accord worried inconsistencies in the testimony will undermine the trial.

"Are they lying right now or are they lying at that time? And what makes them change their story? Those are the things we have to ask."

Accord is calling on authorities to help keep the witnesses safe and make sure that those who don't tell the truth are held accountable.

"The difficulty we have in this case is people intimidating witnesses as well as the family," Accord said.

Prosecutor Ashley Finlayson told CBC News that two key witnesses did not check in this morning and that he was "having some difficulty getting all of our witnesses here and it's frustrating."