Over 70 Reported Killed in Somalia Bombing

Over 70 people have been reported killed in a truck bombing in the capital of the Horn of Africa nation of Somalia. Al-Shabaab was reported to have claimed responsibility against the AMISOM-controlled building., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

October 4, 2011

Truck Bomb Kills Dozens in Somalia’s Capital

By MOHAMED IBRAHIM and JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
New York Times

MOGADISHU, Somalia — This particular area of Mogadishu was supposed to be safe, a highly fortified government compound in one of the few neighborhoods that Somalia’s transitional government actually controls.

But on Tuesday morning, that illusion was shattered when an enormous truck bomb was detonated right outside the compound’s gates, killing dozens of people — many of them students standing around waiting for exam results — and sending the signal that the Shabab Islamist group may be making a comeback after several months of losing ground.

Witnesses reported horrific scenes of burning bodies, twisted in agony, strewn across the streets. African Union officials said at least 50 people had been killed and possibly as many as 100. Floods of wounded people stumbled into this city’s dilapidated hospitals, which were already full of victims of the country’s widening famine.

Somalia has lurched from crisis to crisis since 1991, when the central government collapsed, and while the Shabab formally withdrew from Mogadishu, the capital, in August, it seems that they are now living up to their vow to carry on a vicious guerrilla war.

Almost immediately after the bombing, the Shabab, who have pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda and have imported many Qaeda-like tactics to Somalia, claimed responsibility.

“We have targeted the attack to 150 young Somalis who were planning to be flown to Sudan to be trained as spies,” the Shabab said in a statement.

However, according to witnesses, the young Somalis killed were not part of the security services but were students hoping for scholarships to Sudan and Turkey.

On Tuesday, many students and their families had gathered at the government compound, located near a busy intersection, to check bulletin boards with the results of examinations.

“Several students I knew were killed in the blast,” said Anisa Abdulle, a 16-year-old student who visited the compound earlier but left before the blast. “This is horrible. I hate the Shabab, because they see the students going for learning as enemies.”

According to witnesses, around 10:45 a.m., a 15-ton truck loaded with fuel drums pulled up to the entrance of the compound, which houses various government ministries, including those dealing with education, foreign affairs and labor issues. Another fuel truck was passing by, and Ali Mohamed, a bystander, said the driver of the truck filled with explosives chose that moment to detonate them.

“But we are lucky; the oil tanker passing by did not explode,” Mr. Ali said.

Still, he said, “This is the most horrific incident I have ever witnessed.”

The explosion sent a gigantic fireball into the sky and shattered windows for miles around. It spewed bodies across an area several city blocks wide. Many were small and thin and appeared to be children, charred beyond recognition. Somali government officials said no senior officials were hurt.

The Shabab introduced suicide bombs to Somalia, and since Shabab fighters began their insurgency in 2007, they have struck many times, with victims including Somali lawmakers, African Union peacekeepers and poor women sweeping up Mogadishu’s bullet-pocked streets.

But few, if any, of their attacks have killed as many people as the one on Tuesday.

There had been hopes that the Shabab’s withdrawal from Mogadishu would usher in a new era of stability, at least in the capital. For the first time in years, the transitional government, backed by 9,000 African Union peacekeepers, was nominally in control. Certain areas, including the area near the stricken government compound, were considered relatively safe, and in recent months, traders had returned to streets pulsing with more life than there had been for a long time.

Many analysts were even going so far as to say that the Shabab were a spent force, racked by internal divisions and dwindling resources. In recent months, the Shabab have suffered heavy losses in Mogadishu, and Shabab fighters have been pushed out of areas along the Kenya and Ethiopia borders by militias that are covertly backed by Kenya and Ethiopia. American drone strikes have also killed several Shabab operatives, and in June, the top Qaeda agent in Somalia, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, was killed in a somewhat random shootout in Mogadishu.

But in the past week or so, the Shabab seemed to be regrouping. On Friday, hundreds of Shabab fighters poured into Dhobley, a market town on the Kenya border, setting off an intense battle. The Shabab briefly occupied the town before a Kenya-backed militia was able to push them out. Then on Monday, the Shabab struck a town in central Somalia, Dhusamareb, withdrawing after inflicting casualties.

Despite the millions of dollars pumped into it, Somalia’s transitional government is still weak and divided, and the Shabab control most of southern Somalia, imposing draconian measures in its areas, banning music, Western dress and even bras, calling them all un-Islamic. Last month, Shabab leaders awarded schoolchildren assault rifles and grenades as prizes for a quiz show.

The Shabab are also widely blamed for causing Somalia’s famine. Much of the Horn of Africa, including Kenya, Ethiopia and other parts of Somalia, has been hit this year by one of the worst droughts in decades. But just about the only areas where that drought has spelled famine, as defined by certain thresholds of death and malnutrition rates, are Shabab-controlled areas.

The Shabab have refused to allow many Western aid organizations into their territory and have even blocked famine victims from fleeing to seek help.

The United Nations says that tens of thousands of people have already died and that as many as 750,000 may soon starve to death unless aid efforts are rapidly scaled up.

Mohamed Ibrahim reported from Mogadishu, and Jeffrey Gettleman from Nairobi, Kenya.