Ekeomah Atuonwu
The Somali capital was hit by a deadly suicide bombing on Thursday with records confirming that six people have died and at least 10 are injured.
There is a widespread speculation that the presidential palace was the target since the blast happened at a restaurant that borders the clinic and security checkpoint leading to the presidential residence in Mogadishu, the country’s capital.
Many in the densely populated area witnessed the blast saying “A loud explosion rocked here unexpectedly. The suicide bomber was pushing a wheelbarrow, several people were killed here. It was a big tragedy. The big explosion caused civilian casualties, that was a tragic one”
According to security officer Abdullahi Muktar, the incident is still being investigated to determine the specific circumstances, but preliminary observations indicate that the explosive was carried out by someone.
However, Al-Shabab, which aims to topple the central government and impose its own severe interpretation of Islamic law, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it killed six delegates and five police officers.
“A Mujaheed suicide bomber conducted an operation against a convoy of the apostate government. The target was the delegates selecting lawmakers,” Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabab’smilitary operations spokesperson said.
Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, a country in East Africa, has seen a spate of attacks and in early January.
Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu, the government spokesman was wounded in an attack. He has been caught up in at least five suicide attacks in Mogadishu.
Long-running debates over delayed elections have enveloped the country in a political crisis. Somalia’s elections follow a difficult indirect system in which state legislatures and clan delegates select members of the national parliament, who then elect the president.
Clan delegates have so far elected roughly 40% of the 275 Members of Parliament who sit in the lower house, with voting for the upper chamber having ended last year. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, Somalia’s president, and Mohamed Hussein Roble, the country’s prime minister, have been at odds over the process.
The electoral standoff has alarmed Somalia’s supporters, who are concerned that it would divert attention away from the war against Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group that has been fighting the central government for more than a decade.
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