MOGADISHU, Somalia
At least six people were killed and 13 others
injured when a suicide bomber targeted a minibus full of delegates involved in
Somalia's parliamentary elections Thursday.Somali security forces secure the road leading to the scene of an explosion at a checkpoint near the Presidential palace in Mogadishu, Somalia February 10, 2022.
The bomber detonated an explosive vest near a
checkpoint leading to the presidential palace in Mogadishu, according to
security officials and city’s ambulance service.
Witnesses said the bomber ran after the bus, trying
to grab its back door, but blew himself up as police drew their guns and
shouted at him to stop.
“My team carried six dead bodies and transported 13
injured people to the hospitals,” said Abdikadir Abdirahman Adem, director of
Mogadishu's Aamin Ambulance Services, told VOA Somali.
“We can confirm that a terrorist suicide bomber carried out the attack and that those killed and injured are all civilians,” Aden said.
The al-Shabab militant group quickly claimed
responsibility for the attack.
It was not immediately clear if members of the
delegates were among the casualties.
Somali Police Spokesman Col. Abdifatah Aden Hassan
said police would release a full report with details on those killed and
injured.
The attack comes as Somalia’s parliamentary
elections continue in different parts of the country. Political leaders are
trying to meet a self-imposed deadline of February 25 to finish the delayed
polls.
Electoral delegates on Thursday chose six
additional lawmakers from the southwestern town of Barare and five more to
represent northern regions of Somalia, bringing the total of elected members of
parliament to 124 — slightly less than half of the 275 seats to be filled.
The elections began on November 1 and were
originally scheduled to end by December 24 but were held up due to political
disputes and logistical challenges.
Once the lawmakers are selected, parliament will
elect a new president.
The United States and other international Somali
partners are pushing for quick and credible elections. On Monday, the U.S.
barred current or former Somali officials and others accused of undermining the
democratic process in Somalia from traveling to the United States.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a
statement that the visa restrictions will apply to those who have encouraged
and engaged in violence against protesters, intimidation of journalists and
opposition members, and manipulation of the electoral process.
"The best path toward sustainable peace in
Somalia is through the rapid conclusion of credible elections," Blinken
said. "Somalia's national and federal member state leaders must follow
through on their commitments to complete the parliamentary process in a
credible and transparent manner by February 25.”
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