Al Shabab
Islamists detonated a truck bomb in a busy intersection in the heart of the
Somali capital on Saturday afternoon, 14 October 2017. The Associated Press
(AP), quoting Somali government sources, put the number of dead about 350, a
figure that is destined to rise as many dead victims are still buried under
mountains of rubble. Many of the hundreds of the wounded victims would succumb
to their grave injuries. This major bombing was the third explosion in the city
on that fateful day but the largest single-day massacre Somalia has ever
witnessed.
Several Somali
Christians died in the attack including Fardawza Haji Hilowle Jama, 39, and her
two minor children and Dr. Maryan Abdullahi Mo'alim Mohamed Geddi, 22, who died on the eve of
her planned graduation from a medical school. Dr. Maryan attended a local
house-church in the center of the capital and played a significant role in the
raising and the distribution of drought relief funds in the last two years. An
article by the New York Times described Dr. Mayan as a “rising star.”[1]
Dr. Maryan is a
relative of the late Somali Christian evangelist, Ali Mustaf Maka’il, who was shot
and killed in Mogadishu at the age of 22 in 2006 by the now-defunct Union of
Islamic Courts, Al Shabab's predecessor[2].
There are eight missing Somali Christians who were around Zope Street at the
time of the explosion. No one knows where they are, but they presumed dead. The
verified injured Somali Christians are eleven including four children.
Our prayers are with all the victims and their families during this difficult time.
Our prayers are with all the victims and their families during this difficult time.
[1] The New York Times, It's a Dark Day for Us': Somalia Reels From Deadliest Blast. 15 October
2017. https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/10/15/world/africa/ap-af-somalia-explosion-the-victims.html,
accessed 16 October 2017.
