Multiple explosions rocked a bustling open-air market in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, on Tuesday, claiming the lives of at least 10 individuals and causing numerous injuries, according to accounts from local residents reported by media.
“I have counted 10 dead people and 15 others injured. My shop is completely destroyed. The blasts took place in four places in the centre of the market,” Hassan Ali, a trader at the Bakara market told media.
The responsible party for the explosions remains unclear at this time, though the Islamist group al Shabaab is frequently implicated in such bombings in Somalia and other regions.
As of now, the government has not issued a statement on the incident. Bakara, Mogadishu’s largest market and a hub for daily necessities such as food, clothing, medicine, and electronics, witnessed destruction as several blasts occurred, devastating numerous shops.
Reports from Erdogan Hospital in Mogadishu indicated that over 20 injured individuals were admitted following the blasts. Al Shabaab, engaged in a prolonged conflict with Somalia’s federal government and an African Union-mandated peacekeeping force, has been striving to establish a new government founded on its interpretation of sharia law.
