Witnesses in Somalia say the brother of the country's deputy prime minister has been shot dead by government forces.

The witnesses say the brother, Abukar Abdisalam, was talking on a mobile phone outside his home in the capital, Mogadishu, when government troops became suspicious, chased him and shot him.

Abdisalam is a brother of Ahmed Abdisalam Adan, who is also the country's information minister.

The motive for the shooting is unclear.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.