2020 Afgooye bombing

On January 18, 2020, a suicide car bombing killed four and injured at least 20 others in Afgooye, approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the Somali capital, Mogadishu.[1] Most of the casualties were police officers protecting Turkish contractors building a road.[2] The al-Qaeda-linked extremist group, al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.[2][3]

2020 Afgooye bombing
Part of the Somali Civil War (2009–present)
Afgoye
Afgoye (Somalia)
LocationAfgooye, Lower Shabelle, Somalia
Date18 January 2020 (2020-01-18)
Attack type
Suicide car bombing
WeaponsCar bomb
Deaths4 (+1 suicide bomber)
Injured20

Background

Al-Shabaab began as the armed wing[4] of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which later splintered into several smaller factions after its defeat in 2006 by Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the TFG's Ethiopian military allies. [5]

The group often carries out attacks in Somalia, especially in and around Mogadishu.[3] It less frequently attacks other African countries which support Somalia, especially neighbouring Kenya. Al-Shabaab carries out attacks to try to undermine Somalia's central government, which is backed by the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping troops, (AMISOM).[6] On 14 October 2017, the worst attack by the organization killed more than 500 people with two bomb explosions that targeted Somalia's capital city Mogadishu.[7]

Turkish involvement in Somalia
Further information: Somalia–Turkey relations

Turkey is a large donor of humanitarian aid and reconstruction to Somalia.[8] Turkey maintained an embassy in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, until the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991.[9] During the drought of 2011, Turkey contributed over $201 million to the humanitarian relief efforts in the impacted parts of Somalia.[10] Turkey assisted in the building of several hospitals, and helped renovate and rehabilitate the Aden Adde International Airport and the National Assembly building, among other initiatives.[11]

Attack

Al-Shabaab militants detonated a car bomb near Afgooye, which is in Lower Shabelle and is approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Mogadishu.[1] A Somali Police commander said the intended target was Turkish construction workers.[3] The suicide bomber sped into an area where the engineers and police were having lunch.[6] Local witnesses described a "massive explosion" and "clouds of smoke". [1] The casualties were mostly police officers providing security.[3] Following the attack, al-Shabab issued a statement, "We are behind the martyrdom of the suicide car bomb in Afgoye".[6]

Reactions

The Turkish defense ministry wrote on Twitter: "We curse and condemn in the strongest terms the bomb terror attack which targeted innocent civilians in Somalia".[6]

gollark: You know, nowadays probably even my monitor has proprietary firmware in it.
gollark: I think if you broaden it to "firmware etc. has been reverse engineered successfully and open replacements exist" there might be slightly more.
gollark: Not even FPGA-based CPU things meet your criteria because FPGAs are mostly proprietary and sometimes get reverse engineered.
gollark: I don't spend that much on laptops.
gollark: What laptops are you *buying*?

References
  1. "Somalia: Turkish workers wounded in deadly al-Shabab car bombing". Al Jazeera. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  2. Guled, Abdi (18 January 2020). "At least 2 killed, 20 wounded in bombing near Somali capital". AP News. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  3. "Al-Shabab Claims Responsibility For Suicide Car Bombing In Somalia". Forces Network. 18 January 2020.
  4. "'So Much to Fear' | War Crimes and the Devastation of Somalia". Human Rights Watch. 8 December 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  5. Abdisaid M. Ali 2008, "The Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahidiin: A profile of the first Somali terrorist organisation", Institut für Strategie Politik Sicherheits und Wirtschaftsberatung (ISPSW), Berlin, Germany, June. Retrieved on 26 August 2008.
  6. Sheikh, Abdi (18 January 2020). "Car bomb attack wounds Turkish contractors, police near Somali capital". Reuters.
  7. "Death toll from Somalia truck bomb in October now at 512: probe committee". Reuters. 30 November 2017.
  8. "Al-Shabab claims deadly attack in Somalia's Mogadishu". Al Jazeera. 30 December 2019.
  9. "Embassy of the Somali Federal Republic in Ankara". Embassy of the Somali Federal Republic in Ankara. Archived from the original on 20 August 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  10. "Turkey raises $201 million for Somalia". Hurriyet. 26 August 2011.
  11. Why Turkish aid model is proving to be a success in Somalia and elsewhere, Rasna Warah, Saturday Nation, 1 April 2012.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.