Twin car bomb explosions near a busy junction in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, killed at least 100 people, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud says.
Among the victims "who were massacred [were] mothers with their children in their arms", the AFP news agency quotes the president as saying.
He appealed for international medical help to deal with the 300 injured.
The president blamed the al-Shabab militant group for Saturday's attack which targeted the education ministry.
The pro-jihadist Somali Memo website has reported that the group has said it was behind the blasts.
An affiliate of al-Qaeda, al-Shabab has engaged in a long-running conflict with the federal Somali government.
President Mohamud, in power for five months pledged "total war" against the Islamist militants after they attacked a popular hotel in Mogadishu in August killing at least 21 people.
Saturday's blasts happened within minutes of each other, destroying buildings and vehicles in the vicinity.
Al Shabaab, which is seeking to topple the government and establish its own rule based on an extreme interpretation of Islamic law, frequently stages attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere.
The first of the explosions hit the education ministry at around 2 p.m. on Saturday. The second hit minutes later as ambulances arrived and people gathered to help the victims.
Mohamed Moalim, who owns a small restaurant near the intersection, said his wife, Fardawsa Mohamed, a mother of six, rushed to the scene after the first explosion to try to help.
"We failed to stop her," he said. "She was killed by the second blast."
President Mohamud said some of the wounded were in a serious condition and the death toll could rise.
"Our people who were massacred ... included mothers with their children in their arms, fathers who had medical conditions, students who were sent to study, businessmen who were struggling with the lives of their families," he said after visiting the scene.
The first hit the education ministry and then the second went off as medical teams arrived to deal with the aftermath, the Reuters news agency reports.
A lorry exploded at the same junction almost exactly five years ago, leaving more than 500 people dead - the worst such attack in the country's history.
After Saturday's attack, hundreds of people have gathered near the site, looking for missing family members.
Among those killed were a prominent journalist and senior police officer.
"I am here to tell the Somali people that such October attacks will not happen again, God willing," President Mohamud said after visiting the scene of the attack.
"The bombings were a message sent by the militants to show that they are still alive, despite the fact that they were defeated in battlefield by government forces," he added.
The African Union (AU) mission in Somalia said that the "attacks underline the urgency and critical importance of the ongoing military offensive to further degrade al-Shabab".
The US, Turkey, Qatar and Germany have all condemned the attack.
Al-Shabab has been battling the AU-backed federal government for control of Somalia for around 15 years.
The group controls much of southern and central Somalia, but has also been able to extend its influence into areas controlled by the government based in Mogadishu.
At least 100 people have been killed and 300 wounded in two car bomb explosions in the capital Mogadishu, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said.
Blaming the al-Shabab armed group for the attacks, Mohamud told reporters on Sunday that he expected the death toll from the twin blasts to rise further.
“Our people who were massacred … included mothers with their children in their arms, fathers who had medical conditions, students who were sent to study, businessmen who were struggling with the lives of their families,” the Somali leader said after visiting the site of the blast.
Saturday's attack was the deadliest since a truck bomb exploded at the same intersection in October 2017, killing more than 500 people.
The al Qaeda-linked Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility, saying the ministry was at the centre of a "war on minds" that teaches Somali children using a Christian-based syllabus. Members of the security forces were among the dead and injured, its statement emailed to media said.
No comments:
Post a Comment