Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Mogadishu (Agenzia Fides) – The attack occurred today, December 3, in Mogadishu that has killed 20 people, including 4 Ministers of Somalia's transitional government (in addition to those of Health, Education, and the University, killed instantly, the Minister of Sports, later died from severe wounding), is a blow to the international community's efforts to stabilize Somalia, which has been since 1990 without a real government capable of exercising control over the whole national territory.
The fundamentalist militia of Shebaab seems to have been inserted in the circuit that feeds fundamentalism in different parts of the world. On December 1, the African Union's Special Envoy for Somalia, Wafula Wamunyinyi, said at opening a meeting of AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia, which consists of 5,000 Ugandan and Burundian soldiers) that the presence of Al Qaida in Somalia is real and that the world must take note. According to Wamunyinyi, the Shebaab are aided by foreign fighters recruited in several African countries and elsewhere: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, United States (including the Somali immigrant community from the '90s), Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda. The African Union representative added that Shebaab commanders and managers of logistics belong to Al Qaida.
"If we do not join our efforts, Al Qaida will take control of Somalia, considering the hold it already has on the country. With the involvement of foreign fighters, we must adopt a new approach towards the conflict in Somalia, far from the perception that this is a clash between clans,” said Wamunyinyi. The African Union representative added that the Shebaab in Somalia have created training camps along with Al Qaida. "With the Al Qaeda training, you know what to expect: suicide bombings and kidnappings," he added.
The attack of these hours seems to be a dramatic confirmation of the predictions of the high representative of the African Union. According to a press release from AMISOM, the bomb that killed 19 people was detonated by a male suicide bomber, disguised as a woman. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 3/12/2009)
