Eight people were killed on Saturday September 25 in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, by a car bomb attack on a checkpoint near the presidential palace, Agence France-Presse (AFP) learned from an official of the police. This attack was claimed by the Chabab, a jihadist group.
The powerful explosion occurred in the late morning, a little before 11 a.m., at the Ceelgaab crossroads, where there is a checkpoint located about a kilometer from Villa Somalia, the presidential palace. “It is confirmed that eight people, mostly civilians, died and seven others injured in the explosion of a car bomb”Mucawiye Ahmed Mudey, the district commissioner of Hamar Jajab where the attack occurred, told reporters.
Witnesses told AFP that several cars were waiting to be checked when the explosion occurred, and that victims were trapped in their burning vehicle. “This car was stopped by security guards and [l’explosion] went off when there were several other cars [arrêtées] and people passing in the neighboring street ”, he said.
Regular attacks by the Chabab
Among those killed was Hibaaq Abukar Hassan, the prime minister’s adviser on women and human rights, an official source said. The Prime Minister condemned the attack in a press release, saluting the memory of the victims and in particular of his collaborator, “A dynamic and hard-working young woman, (…) a devoted citizen ”.
The Chabab jihadists claimed responsibility for the attack in a brief statement. “Targeting the main security checkpoint of the presidential palace”. Mogadishu is regularly the scene of attacks by the Chabab, who since 2007 have led an insurgency aimed at overthrowing the fragile Somali government, supported at arm’s length by the international community. They were driven from the Somali capital by African Union force, Amisom, in 2011, but carry out frequent attacks there against government, security and civilian targets. They also control large rural areas in the rest of the country.
This attack comes as the head of state, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmajo, and the prime minister have been tearing for several weeks over sackings and appointments within the security apparatus. This quarrel between the two men causes concern because it endangers the fragile process leading to the election of a new president, but also because its epicenter is the National Intelligence and Security Agency, the main cog in the fight against the Chabab.
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