Blasts in Mogadishu – At least 100 people killed in attacks in Somalia – News

• At least 100 people were killed and 300 injured when two car bombs exploded in front of the Ministry of Education in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday.
• The country’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said in a statement on Sunday that the victims included women, children and students.
• The first blast hit the Ministry of Education near a busy intersection in Mogadishu. The second car bomb went off as ambulances arrived and people gathered to help the victims.

The explosions were so powerful that the blast shattered surrounding windows. “I lost three close relatives,” said a survivor at the site of the attacks of the German Press Agency. “We have so far searched in vain for other relatives,” he added.

It is to be feared that the number of victims will continue to rise, said President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Sunday when he visited the scene of the crime. Most of the victims were civilians, according to police.

Al-Shabaab responsible for attack

Four attackers were involved in the attack. Two of them tried to storm the ministry building but were killed by security forces. The Islamist terrorist militia Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.

The timing of the assassination did not seem to have been chosen at random, it said. A three-day government conference had just come to an end, which was about stepping up the fight against terrorism.

Civilians suffer from terror

Somalia, a country in the Horn of Africa with around 16 million inhabitants, has been rocked by attacks and violence for years. The Sunni terrorist group Al-Shabaab controls large parts of central and southern Somalia, which is one of the poorest countries in the world. The terrorists want to establish an Islamist regime and often carry out attacks on civilians, government officials, businessmen and journalists.

The government in Mogadishu has been conducting a military offensive against Al-Shabaab for several months. With the support of armed clans and civilians, the Somali military has recently been able to gain large amounts of territory.

Most serious attack since 2017

According to a police spokesman, it was the deadliest attack in Somalia since 2017, when a truck loaded with explosives exploded in almost the same place in Mogadishu. More than 500 people died then.

According to experts, many young men join the extremists less for religious reasons than for financial reasons. In addition, the militia often attack villages and force the residents to take an oath of allegiance. A 22,000-strong African Union (AU) force is supporting the Somali armed forces in the fight against the terrorists.