Somalia, truck bomb in Mogadishu: at least 276 dead
Rights — di Andrea Barolini
Two explosions have shaken the Hodan district of Mogadishu. Nearly three hundred dead: “It is the worst terrorist massacre in Somalia's history”.
Somalia, truck bomb in Mogadishu: at least 276 dead
Two explosions have shaken the Hodan district of Mogadishu. Nearly three hundred dead: “It is the worst terrorist massacre in Somalia's history”.
Two truck bombs were detonated on Saturday evening in Mogadishu, Somalia. The death toll, still provisional, of what has been described as "the worst terrorist massacre ever to occur in the African nation" stands at at least 276 dead and 300 wounded, according to a statement issued this morning by the local government and reported by the British broadcaster BBC.
Buildings collapsed, bodies in the street. A particularly busy area targeted
The blasts were so powerful that they caused several buildings to collapse: many people are still trapped under the rubble. The attack took place at the intersection known as "kilometre 5", located in the Hodan district — a busy commercial neighbourhood of the Somali capital, home to shops, hotels and minibus stops. The attack was therefore conceived with the aim of causing as many casualties as possible.
Reports arriving from Mogadishu are harrowing: dismembered and burned bodies, unrecognisable, lay on Saturday at the sites of the explosions. President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, elected last February, declared three days of national mourning. "It is terrible — here every one of us has lost at least one loved one," a local resident told the French daily Le Monde by phone. "Four of my friends are missing. We had never seen anything like this."
Suspicions fall on the jihadist group al-Shabab, but no official claim of responsibility
No one has yet officially claimed responsibility for the attack, but numerous sources point to the jihadist group al-Shabab as the likely perpetrator — the same group that has already been responsible for numerous massacres in the past. Most notably the one in October 2011, which left 82 dead and 120 wounded. It should be noted, however, that one of the explosions occurred outside the Safari hotel, a popular establishment. Hardline militants, by contrast, typically target hotels or restaurants frequented by government officials or staff from international agencies.
I have recorded this video from the scene.#mogadishu #somalia
On Sunday, Mogadishu responded to the wave of violence: thousands of people took to the streets to express their anger and demand a "normal" life. Meanwhile, foreign press correspondents reported long queues at medical facilities where it was possible to donate blood to help the wounded.