Explosion in Mogadishu kills 8 people!

[Ab-Titchaz]

Somalia theatre bombing kills top sports officials

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The head of Somalia's Olympic committee and its football chief are among eight people killed in a bomb attack on a high-profile event in Mogadishu.

Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali survived the blast unhurt after it struck the newly re-opened national theatre in the capital, Mogadishu.

Militants from the al-Shabab group say they carried out the bombing.

African Union peacekeepers said the "despicable" attack would not deter peace efforts in Somalia.

The President of the Somali Olympic Committee, Aden Yabarow Wiish, and the Somali Football Federation chief, Said Mohamed Nur, were both killed. They were among a group of dignitaries who had gathered to mark the first anniversary of the launch of Somalia's national television station.

Sepp Blatter, president of football's governing body Fifa, said he was shocked at the deaths of the sport officials.
"I knew both men personally and can only say good things about their endless efforts to promote sport and football in their country," he said in a statement. "They will be sorely missed."

Three Somali television journalists were also wounded in the blast, sources told the BBC Somali Service.

The theatre had closed in the early 1990s as Somalia descended into civil war and was only reopened last month, amid a new period of relative optimism.

Police and hospital sources told BBC News in Mogadishu that eight people had been killed.

Also speaking to the BBC, the prime minister said a woman suicide attacker had carried out the attack.

BBC News - Somalia theatre bombing kills top sports officials

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Several people, including the heads of Somalia's Olympic committee and football association, have been killed in a suspected suicide blast at the national theatre in Mogadishu, only weeks after it was reopened following decades of civil war.

The head of the Somali football federation, Said Mohamed Nur, whose body is seen here being removed from the theatre by police, and the president of the Somali Olympic Committee, Aden Yabarow Wiish, were attending an event marking the first anniversary of the launch of Somalia's national television station.

Residents and police helped move the dead and injured out of the theatre. Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, who was also present when the attack happened but was unhurt, blamed the bombing on al-Shabab militants.

The PM told the BBC that the woman suicide attacker had struck as he was giving a speech to the gathering. In a statement, al-Shabab said it was behind the bombing but referred to a planted device rather than a suicide bomber.

An eyewitness told Associated Press news agency the blast happened as musicians were singing and spectators were clapping. Reporters at the scene described seeing shoes and bloody mobile phones lying on the floor, and chairs cut in half by the force of the blast.




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[Ab-Titchaz]

Security personnel secure the building. Al-Shabab militants, who had controlled large parts of the country, including Mogadishu, were pushed out of the city by troops from the African Union last year.

Mogadishu has seen a period of relative quiet since al-Shabab were driven out. But the group has continued to attack the city with bombs and mortars.

The national theatre closed in the early 1990s as Somalia descended into civil war and was only reopened last month, amid a new period of relative optimism


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[Askari Kanzu]

The carnage today stands in stark contrast to the idyllic scenes that were captured when the Theatre was opened on Monday 19th March 2012.

On that day, Somalian President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed who was one of the hundreds of people in attendance was quoted as saying: "Somalia has historic literary traditions that date back more than 700 years … and I feel that resuming such traditions will play a role in the peace process." Sadly, such a time is yet to come in Somalia.