John Adoyi, PBA Journalism Mentee
The citizens of Somalia have been thrown into grief as double car bomb blast in the capital, Mogadishu has left at least 100 dead and injuring 300 more.
Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud who gave the casualty figure after visiting the sites of the twin blast on Sunday, said the death toll could rise if medical attention is not given to some of the critically injured.
The blast occured at the busy Education Ministry, close to a popular market intersection.
This is considered the deadliest attack in the country in recent times after the October 14, 2017 attack in the same place killed over 500 persons injuring many more.
The al-Qaeda linked Al-shabaab terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The President in a statement through his verified Twitter handle, described the group as “morally bankrupt.”
“Today’s cruel and cowardly terrorist attack on innocent people by the morally bankrupt and criminal Al-Shabaab group cannot discourage us but will further strengthen our resolve to defeat them once and for all,” President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud stated.
Condemning the attack, the African Union commission chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, called on the international community to assist Somalia in the fight against terrorists.
He said the global community should “redouble its efforts to ensure robust international support to Somalia’s institutions in their struggle to defeat terrorist groups.”
The first blast occurred at 2 p.m. local time and the second one went off when ambulance and rescue workers were trying to arrest the situation and take dead and injured to the hospital.
The Horn of African country’s president vowed that Al-shabaab would not take over the country saying “our government and brave people will continue to defend Somalia against evil.”
Al-shabaab is an Islamic fundamentalist group based in Somalia which came into prominence in 2006 during the transitioning federal government in the country.
It has since then staged different attacks in the Somalia and other places in East Africa.
It seeks to topple the government of Somalia and establish a fundamental Islamic state in the country, a move that has been opposed by the international community.
Though the activities of the terrorists have been degraded by the African Union military mission in Somalia, it has been able to carry out attacks in South and central Somalia.
In August, the group carried out an attack on the Hayat hotel in the nation’s capital, Mogadishu which resulted in the death of 20 people after a 30 hour standoff.
