A car bomb ripped through a government compound in Mogadishu Tuesday, killing at least 57 in the deadliest attack by Somalia’s Shebab since they launched their insurgency almost five years ago. The suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the compound housing four ministries, two months after the Al Qaeda-linked rebels officially dismantled all their positions in the capital.
“The number of people killed is 57 and about 34 are unaccounted for,” said a police official speaking on condition of anonymity. “We fear that the number of dead could rise.” Soon after the explosion, the African Union and government troops deployed heavily to the area and cordoned it off.
Most of the casualties were reported to be civilians, with local residents saying the bomb went off as students were queueing for scholarships offered by Turkey.
It would be the Shebab’s deadliest attack in Somalia since the group formed around five years ago, largely in response to Ethiopia’s occupation.
In a surprise move, the Shebab abandoned their positions in Mogadishu in early August, after years of attempting and failing to break the AU’s defences and take over the capital.
They had vowed however that it was a tactical move and that their struggle against the Western-backed Somali government would continue.
AU and pro-government forces had re-asserted their authority over most of the capital and the Shebab’s withdrawal had led to a relative lull in violence.
The Shebab have suddenly rekindled their insurgency on several fronts almost simultaneously, with clashes also reported in western and southern regions. The UN Security Council last week urged the AU to increase its 9,000 troops propping up the Somali government. The force currently comprises soldiers from the only two countries to stump up troops for the force, Burundi and Uganda.
