From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Thu Dec 03 2009 - 16:30:22 EST
Deadly suicide bombing kills four Somali ministers
Dec 3, 2009 - 4:24:19 AM
At least 17 people, including four Somali ministers and two journalists have
been killed and over 60 others injured in deadly suicide bomb blast that
ripped through a function in Somalia's restive capital of Mogadishu, Radio
Garowe reports.
According to witnesses, a 'lady' suicide bomber detonated explosives near
the VIP lounge where the top government officials, who attended the
graduation ceremony for Banadir University, were seated.
The dead ministers are Health Minister Qamar Aden Ali, High and lower
Education Ministers Pro. Ibrahim Hassan Adoow, Abdullahi Wayel, Sports and
youth Minister Saleman Olad Robleh.
"The explosion happened at the podium at the time when Pro. Mohamed Warsame
was delivering his speech," Mohamed Liban, one of the graduates told Garowe
Online.
The dead journalists are Mahamed Amin Adan Abdulle of Shabele Radio and
Hassan Ali Hassan [Fantastic], Al Arabiya television Mogadishu director.
Duniyo Ali Mahamed, the head of Medina hospital's staffs said more than 60
wounded people, most of them graduates have been admitted in the hospital.
Shortly after the explosion, the African Union (AU) through a statement
issued from Nairobi, Kenya condemned the heinous act.
"The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) condemns in the strongest
terms possible today's suicide attack by armed opposition groups resulting
in the death of ministers of the Somalia Transitional Federal Government
(TFG) and ordinary citizens," said the emailed-statement.
Somalia's insurgent Al-Shabaab group is suspected to be behind the attack,
which comes at the time when the bullet-ridden seaside capital has seen
heightened violence between rebels and AU-backed government forces.
Q+A-What does suicide bombing mean for Somalia?
Thu Dec 3, 2009 4:57pm GMT
By William Maclean, Security Correspondent
LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed at least 19 people
including three Somali government ministers on Thursday at a graduation
ceremony in a Mogadishu hotel, witnesses and officials said.
Here are some questions and answers about the suicide blast, Somalia's
deadliest since June, and its possible consequences:
WON'T ORDINARY SOMALIS BE REPULSED BY THIS?
Yes, but at present outrage is not a factor in a volatile political or
security situation defined by the gun: many Somalis are too intimidated to
speak out forcefully inside the country.
Since the rise of the al Shabaab radical Islamist group, widely suspected of
carrying out Thursday's attack, many families now live in areas controlled
by the guerrillas and are subject to their harsh interpretation of Islamic
law.
This includes uncompromising security measures such as beatings for
misdemeanours, amputations for theft and beheadings of those they suspect of
spying on them.
While protests are likely to be loud among Somali diaspora communities and
via Internet-based media, anger and shock are likely to be voiced mostly in
private inside Somalia.
Somalis in Mogadishu have demonstrated for peace very occasionally in recent
years, but the often intense level of fighting in the city since 2006 has
deterred street gatherings of unarmed civilians.
WHAT ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE?
In the hands of a skilled government spokesman, there are several aspects of
the attack that could be used to deliver a compelling repudiation of its
perpetrators.
Most, if not all, of the victims were civilians. Many were medical students
graduating from college, supremely important professionals in a war-scarred
country in desperate need of medical expertise.
Also, the students are believed to have been the among the first medical
students trained in Somalia in many years. Their loss is therefore a blow to
Somalia's already battered national pride.
The attack took place at one of the most secure, or least dangerous, places
in Mogadishu, a hotel with a deserved reputation for good management and
taking care of its guests.
One consequence could be a decline, if only temporarily, in visits to
Mogadishu by experts needed to help to build the capacity of the
Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to deliver security and services.
Then there is the question of opinion inside the Shabaab. Observers see
occasional signs of internal dissent about tactics. They cite reports of the
defection of two commanders to the TFG in protest at the Shabaab's
contemptuous attitude towards ordinary people, including the group's looting
of two U.N. World Food Programme compounds in Baidoa in July.
Observers said it was not clear whether the U.N.-backed government of
President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed had the focus or capacity to turn these
factors to its advantage in its public statements.
DOES THE ATTACK AFFECT THE MILITARY SITUATION?
In the days ahead of Thursday's attack, residents said the government had
apparently been planning a new offensive against the rebels in the capital
and elsewhere.
Observers say the assault was to use a number of Somali troops trained
abroad by Western experts.
These troops had recently been sent back to Mogadishu specifically to
prepare and carry out the offensive, the observers say. An attack might have
come at an awkward time for Shabaab, because it is currently engaged in
fighting a rival Islamist group, Hizbul Islam, for control of the lucrative
southern port of Kismayu and its surrounding territories.
Besides denting government morale by showing the insurgents' ability to
strike the TFG at will, Thursday's bombing may divert the government's
attention from its reported plans, leading to their delay.
The bombing will certainly heighten the TFG's frustration over delayed
pledges of military and financial support from Western donors. (Reporting by
William Maclean; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Andrew Dobbie)
((william.maclean@thomsonreuters.com: Tel +44 207 213 21 72 70 20, Fax+213
21 63 91 51)) ((For Interactive factbox on Somalia please click
<http://uk.reuters.com/news/factbox?fj=20090825142344.js&fn=Conflict%20and%2
0strife%20in%20bloody%20Somalia%20> here))
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