President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud announced on Sunday that the death toll from twin car bombings in the Somali capital Mogadishu, claimed by Al-Shabaab Islamists, has risen to 100.
“As of now, 100 people have died and 300 have been injured,” he said after visiting the blast site. “Both the death toll and the number of those injured continue to rise.”
Two cars packed with explosives exploded minutes apart at a busy intersection in Zobe, Somalia, followed by gunfire in an attack on the education ministry.
The explosions in the afternoon tore through walls, shattered windows of nearby buildings, and sent shrapnel, smoke, and dust into the air.
Sadik Dudishe, a police spokesman, said the victims included women, children, and the elderly.
“The savage terrorists murdered mothers. Some of them died while carrying their children on their backs, he said, adding that the attackers were prevented from killing more “innocent civilians and students.”
The attack occurred at the same busy intersection where a truck carrying explosives exploded on October 14, 2017, killing 512 people and injuring more than 290 others, making it the deadliest attack in the troubled nation.
Mohamud referred to the incident as “historic” and stated, “the same innocent people were involved at the same location.”
“This is improper. God willing, they will be incapable of a repeat of the Zobe incident,” he stated, in reference to the Islamist organization Al-Shabaab.
Al-Qaeda-linked In a statement, Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming that its fighters had targeted the ministry of education.
The international condemnation of the bloody siege came from Somalia’s allies, including the United Nations, Turkey, and the African Union force tasked with assisting Somali forces to assume primary security responsibility by the end of 2024.
The mission of the UN in Somalia UNSOM pledged to “resolutely stand with all Somalis against terrorism.”
“These attacks highlight the urgency and critical importance of the ongoing military offensive to further degrade Al-Shabaab,” tweeted the AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), which replaced the previous AMISOM peacekeeping force, late Saturday night.
“Total war”
Al-Shabaab has attempted to overthrow the fragile government in Mogadishu, which is supported by foreign powers, for approximately 15 years.
Its fighters were expelled from the capital in 2011 by an African Union force, but the group still controls large swaths of the surrounding countryside and continues to launch deadly attacks against civilian and military targets.
In August, the group launched a 30-hour gun and bomb assault on the popular Hayat hotel in Mogadishu, resulting in 21 deaths and 117 injuries.
After the August siege, Mohamud, who was elected in May, vowed to wage “all-out war” against the Islamists.
In September, he urged citizens to avoid jihadist-controlled areas, claiming that the military and tribal militia were intensifying offensives against them.
Al-Shabaab remains a potent force despite multinational efforts to degrade its leadership.
The group claimed responsibility last week for an attack on a hotel in the port city of Kismayo that resulted in nine deaths and 47 injuries.
Since the fall of Siad Barre’s military regime in 1991, Somalia has been in a state of anarchy.
His removal was followed by civil war and the rise of Al-Shabaab.
In addition to the insurgency, Somalia, along with its neighbors in the Horn of Africa, is experiencing the worst drought in more than four decades. Four unsuccessful rainy seasons have decimated livestock and crops.
The war-torn nation is one of the most susceptible to climate change, but it is particularly unprepared to deal with the crisis as it fights a deadly Islamist insurgency.
