A car goes up in flames near the scene of a blast in Mogadishu, Somalia on April 14, 2013. Despite claims by the corporate media that the country is stable, the war rages on., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)
Somalia: "Symbolic Targets Have Been Hit," Says Bishop Bertin
16 APRIL 2013
Mogadishu — Right Rev Giorgio Bertin, Bishop of Djibouti and Apostolic Administrator of Mogadishu, has said that "symbolic places were hit" after the Sunday, April 14 attack where at least 34 civilians were killed in a series of attacks in which nine attackers were also killed.
Attackers hit the headquarters of the civil courts, a security building and a Turkish humanitarian convoy, just when the Somali President Sheikh Hassan Mohamud was in Ankara at a summit with the authorities of Somaliland, under the Turkish mediation, to bring together the two States. (Somaliland declared its independence in 1991, although no State has officially recognized it)
"The Turkish humanitarian convoy was hit and despite the attack Ankara has tried to initiate mediation with the Al Shabaab," notes Bishop Bertin.
"But the commitment shown by the Turkish authorities in supporting the new Somali state institutions evidently irritated the Al Shabaab or other opponents of this normalization," he added.
As far as the court is concerned one must remember that the Al Shabaab were originally linked to the Islamic courts that had taken control of Mogadishu a few years ago.
Bishop Bertin emphasized that, "the new court draws the sources of law not only by Sharia but also by the new Constitution. Justice is one of the priorities of the new government institution since August last year. The police, the judiciary and the army are the three top priorities of every government to ensure maximum security. Hitting the court means hitting one of the main tools for the reconstruction of the State."
According to Fides, the Bishop who recently traveled to Mogadishu adds that, "Unfortunately, the path of normalization of Somalia is still an uphill struggle. Despite the new institutions which are beginning to operate, the control of the territory remains largely uncertain."
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