Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 22:53:58 +0200
Somalia car bomb rips through market as China unveils embassy plans
Two die and seven injured in Mogadishu blast hours after China announces
plans to reopen headquarters in Somali capital
* <http://www.theguardian.com/profile/janise-elie> Janise Elie and
agencies in Beijing and Mogadishu
* <http://www.theguardian.com/> theguardian.com, Monday 30 June 2014
16.40 BST
A car has bomb ripped through a bustling market in Mogadishu, killing two
people and wounding seven, just hours after
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/china> China announced plans to reopen its
embassy in <http://www.theguardian.com/world/somalia> Somalia.
China withdrew diplomatic personnel and axed its mission in the east African
country as it descended into civil war in 1991. The pair maintained
diplomatic relations despite the absence of a headquarters.
On Monday morning, China said it would reinstate its embassy in Somalia on
Tuesday amid signs the country was making solid progress in its efforts to
restore peace. But the subsequent explosion in the capital could prompt
concerns over moves to strengthen ties.
It is unclear who carried out the attack, but previous similar incidents in
Mogadishu have been claimed by
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/al-shabaab> al-Shabaab militants, who have
vowed to unleash a series of attacks during Ramadan.
Gunmen shot dead three people on Sunday, the first day of the Muslim fasting
month, and said the killings marked the start of the Islamist group's
campaign of terror.
Previously written off as a failed state, Somalia has installed its most
legitimate government for decades since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's
election in 2012, but it has struggled to exert influence beyond the capital
and remains plagued by deadly attacks by militants.
China's announcement that it would reopen its embassy in the country comes
less than a month after the US said it would appoint an ambassador to
Mogadishu for the first time since closing its headquarters there 23 years
ago. Britain and Turkey, which have opened diplomatic headquarters in
Somalia in the past couple of years, are also vying for influence in the
Horn of <http://www.theguardian.com/world/africa> Africa state.
China has made major investments in Africa, mainly in the natural resources
sector. Africans broadly see China as a healthy counterbalance to western
influence but, as ties mature, there are growing calls from policymakers and
economists for more balanced trade relations.
Officials in Beijing made no comment on Monday's explosion.
MDG : Somali soldiers search for survivors amid the rubble-strewn Karan
market in Mogadishu
Somali soldiers search for survivors amid the rubble-strewn Karan market in
Mogadishu. Photograph: Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP/Getty Images
(image/jpeg attachment: image001.jpg)