By RFIPosted on 30-12-2019Changed on 30-12-2019 at 21:55
Islamist shebabs claim responsibility for the attack that struck Mogadishu on December 28. The death toll is now 89 dead, 12 missing and 149 injured. A Turkish plane transported the wounded to Ankara. A Qatari device must also provide medical aid on site.
"On Saturday, the mujahideen carried out an attack (...) targeting a convoy of Turkish mercenaries and the apostate militiamen who were escorting them, " said their spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage, in an audio message.
For the first time, the shebabs apologized to the civilian victims of this attack , while justifying it by the necessary fight against the Somali state and its foreign supporters.
" We are truly sorry for the losses inflicted on our Somali Muslim society and we offer our condolences to the Muslims who have lost their lives, been injured or have had their property destroyed, " added the spokesman.
He explained that the car bomb had been blocked by security services at the checkpoint when he wanted to target this convoy, and that it was therefore " God's will " if so many civilians had been killed.
Shebabs generally do not claim attacks that claim too many victims among the civilian population, for fear of losing the support they still enjoy with certain Somalis.
This attack is the deadliest since the one committed in 2017 with a truck bomb that had killed more than 500 people in the capital. The shebabs had not claimed it.
► Read also: Somalia: the government under pressure after the last deadly attack
(with AFP)
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