At least 14 people were killed Saturday, including local politicians, in a suicide bombing claimed by Shebab jihadists at a restaurant in Bellewine, in central Somaliawhere elections are expected to take place in the near future.
Police and eyewitnesses initially reported ten dead. But four of the 16 civilians injured when the suicide bomber detonated his explosives were taken to a hospital where they were treated, police spokesman Mohammad Hassan told AFP by telephone.
“The death toll in the heinous terrorist act committed (…) in Beledouine has risen from 10 to 14,” he said. “It is the worst attack I have ever experienced in this city,” he added.
Security was stepped up in Beledouine, 340 kilometers north of the capital Mogadishu, ahead of local elections.
“Nevertheless, a Shebab fighter entered the area (…) and among the dead were the deputy governor of Hiran district, the deputy director of the social affairs department and the deputy head of the intelligence service in Beledouine,” Shebab said. , in Arabic), in a laconic statement in which she claimed responsibility for the attack.
According to eyewitnesses, the explosion destroyed the restaurant yard that was crowded yesterday at noon.
Also yesterday, one person was killed and six others were injured when a bomb exploded at a teahouse in Bosasso, the financial capital of Pudland (north), police said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Somalia, especially its capital, Mogadishu, has been the scene of several attacks in recent weeks, most of them by Shebab jihadists swearing allegiance to al-Qaeda. This organization always continues to loot several rural areas of the province.
Although ousted from Mogadishu in 2011, thanks to operations by the federal army and African Union forces, Shebab has frequently attacked the capital as part of its 2007 uprising to overthrow the fragile federal government backed by the international community.
According to the current election timetable, the nomination of members of the federal lower house is expected to be completed by February 25 – with a delay of more than a year.
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohammed, better known as Pharmazo, and Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble have been embroiled in a series of repeated election delays that have alarmed international supporters and international supporters.
Elections in Somalia are conducted in an indirect, highly complex model: state deputies and tribal representatives elect representatives to the national parliament, who then in turn elect the president of the Republic.
The vote for the election of the upper house was completed last year. The representatives of the tribes have so far elected 159 of the 275 representatives of the lower Parliament.
The U.S. government on Friday demanded that Somali leaders ensure that elections were held “in a credible and transparent manner” by February 25. “The United States will demand that all those who obstruct or cause problems in the process be held accountable,” the statement said.
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