Nairobi, NU Online
Top UN envoy for Somalia has condemned Saturday's bomb explosions which killed at least 30 civilians and left dozens of others including foreigners injured in Mogadishu's Bakara market.
In a statement issued in Nairobi, UN Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah said the action was a brutal attack on people who had gone to pray. "This was a brutal attack on people who had gone to the Mosque to pray. Such attacks must be condemned," Ould-Abdallah said in a statement received here on Monday. />
Reports say Saturday's attack occurred in the Abdalla Shideye mosque which is often used by al Shabaab officials to deliver speeches. It is not far from the Abu Hureya mosque where a landmine killed one person last Tuesday.
A senior member of the al-Shabab militia was reportedly the target. Fuad Mohamed Khalaf, known as Fuad Shongole, was said to have been injured.
The Islamists, who are linked to al-Qaeda, are credited with having brought greater stability to the part of the country under their control.
The special representative said the attack in Bakara market, which is controlled by extremist groups opposing the government, would only escalate the bloodshed and violence which has afflicted the country for the past 20 years.
"We do not know yet who was behind these blasts, their motivation or who the victims were, but ultimately it is the Somali people who pay the high price," said Ould-Abdallah as quoted by xinhuanet.com.
The UN envoy said the Saturday's action was not in the interests of dialogue or of bringing stability to Somalia which has been without effective central government for more than two decades.
"On again, on behalf of the UN Secretary-General, I call on Somalis to stop the indiscriminate killing and to strive for a peaceful future for the sake of themselves, their children and their country," he said.
The Horn of African nation has been wracked by civil conflict since 1991. The hardline Islamists have in the recent years taken control of large parts of southern Somalia.
The main al-Shabab group says it is fighting the weak UN-backed government to make Somalia an Islamic state.
The transitional government, which controls only parts of the capital with the help of African peacekeepers, also wants Islamic law imposed, but al-Shabab's interpretation of Sharia has been very strict. (dar)
Top UN envoy for Somalia has condemned Saturday's bomb explosions which killed at least 30 civilians and left dozens of others including foreigners injured in Mogadishu's Bakara market.
In a statement issued in Nairobi, UN Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah said the action was a brutal attack on people who had gone to pray. "This was a brutal attack on people who had gone to the Mosque to pray. Such attacks must be condemned," Ould-Abdallah said in a statement received here on Monday.
Reports say Saturday's attack occurred in the Abdalla Shideye mosque which is often used by al Shabaab officials to deliver speeches. It is not far from the Abu Hureya mosque where a landmine killed one person last Tuesday.
A senior member of the al-Shabab militia was reportedly the target. Fuad Mohamed Khalaf, known as Fuad Shongole, was said to have been injured.
The Islamists, who are linked to al-Qaeda, are credited with having brought greater stability to the part of the country under their control.
The special representative said the attack in Bakara market, which is controlled by extremist groups opposing the government, would only escalate the bloodshed and violence which has afflicted the country for the past 20 years.
"We do not know yet who was behind these blasts, their motivation or who the victims were, but ultimately it is the Somali people who pay the high price," said Ould-Abdallah as quoted by xinhuanet.com.
The UN envoy said the Saturday's action was not in the interests of dialogue or of bringing stability to Somalia which has been without effective central government for more than two decades.
"On again, on behalf of the UN Secretary-General, I call on Somalis to stop the indiscriminate killing and to strive for a peaceful future for the sake of themselves, their children and their country," he said.
The Horn of African nation has been wracked by civil conflict since 1991. The hardline Islamists have in the recent years taken control of large parts of southern Somalia.
The main al-Shabab group says it is fighting the weak UN-backed government to make Somalia an Islamic state.
The transitional government, which controls only parts of the capital with the help of African peacekeepers, also wants Islamic law imposed, but al-Shabab's interpretation of Sharia has been very strict. (dar)
