(09-06-23) MOGADISHU — A blast, caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), rocked the heart of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Friday. The explosion occurred at a principal security checkpoint in Kaaran District, which is manned by paramilitary forces trained by Uganda. This incident has compounded existing tension, given that some officers stationed there had protested over unpaid salaries just two days prior.
The deafening blast was followed by a wave of sustained gunfire, causing panic among the soldiers who began firing indiscriminately in all directions. According to witnesses, two officers were injured in the initial explosion, along with a female civilian passerby. Several others were reportedly wounded during the subsequent gunfire.
Security forces immediately cordoned off the scene while ambulances sped to evacuate the wounded to nearby hospitals. The status of the injured is yet to be disclosed, and no immediate claim of responsibility has been made for Friday’s attack.
This incident comes just days after another explosion targeted Ahmad Garar, the private secretary of Member of Parliament (MP) and Special Presidential Envoy for Drought Response, Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame. This attack, which took place on Maka Al Mukarama road near the Waberi district station, involved a mine attached to Garar’s vehicle.
Despite the recent surge in violence, it’s worth noting that the Somali capital experienced significant relief from such incidents in the past decade. The Al-Shabaab militant group, which had previously held sway in Mogadishu, was driven out of the city in 2011 by a joint operation by the national army and African Union (AU) troops. This offensive led to the liberation of major towns, including Afgoye and Marka, in the Lower Shabelle region.
