Somalia: AMISOM Condemns Cowardly Attack in Mogadishu.

By Staff Writer


MOGHADISHU---The African Union Mission in Somalia has condemned the indiscriminate killing of innocent Somali civilians by Al Qaeda-linked insurgents following a suicide attack yesaterday in the capital, Mogadishu, which claimed scores of lives.

AMISOM Force Commander, Maj. Gen. Fred Mugisha, sent his condolences to the families of the dead and prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured. He said the attack was proof that though the extremists were weakened, they remained a deadly enemy of the Somali people;

"This attack, which targeted the institutions of the Transitional Federal Government and murdered dozens of civilians, shows just how little the extremists value human life.

"We must not drop our guard. As we have repeatedly said, the threat of attack remains real even when the extremists were forced out of the city. We continue to operate on a high level of readiness and operations by AMISOM, together with the security forces of the TFG, we will continue in order to make Mogadishu as safe as possible.

"Our forces are helping to secure the affected area and transport the injured to hospitals. We have also sent excavators to help free people from under the rubble. 

According to available information, a truck bomb loaded with drums of fuel exploded after the vehicle rammed a checkpoint outside a compound housing several ministries of Somalia's interim government, in the K4 area. Reportedly, the Ministry of Education was registering students for scholarships offered by the Turkish government at the time.

Yesterday’s attack was the deadliest since the militants were forced to retreat from the city. In September, Somali security agents stopped several planned attacks including an attempted car bombing at the populous K4 area, and two attempted suicide attacks on the Baadbado and Rajo IDP camps, the largest of the over 200 camps dotting the city.

This is not the first time that the extremists have attacked students. Nearly two years ago, on 3 December 2009, a suicide bomber killed at least 22 people, including 4 government ministers, and injured at least 40, at a graduation ceremony for medical students in Mogadishu. The irony is that the same Al-Shabaab would expect treatment from doctors when injured or sick. AMISOM still considers Al-Shabaab as a terrible group and will work with other partners to stop their horrible attacks on civilians.