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Showing posts with label Somali. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Somali. Show all posts

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Somali wounded flown to Turkey

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
6 October 2011 Last updated at 10:41 GMT Patients at Mogadishu airport - 6 October 2011 Hospitals have been struggling to cope with the wounded from Tuesday's blast Thirty six of the most severely wounded people in Tuesday's suicide attack in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, are being flown to Turkey for treatment.

Among those on board are teenagers who at the time of the blast were at the education ministry to see if they had won study scholarships to Turkey.

The Islamist al-Shabab group said it carried out the bombing.

About 150 people were wounded and 77 have died after a lorry detonated outside several government ministries.

It is the largest attack since al-Shabab withdrew its forces from Mogadishu in August.

Burns victims

The Turkish prime minister recently visited Somalia to pledge aid and support to the war-torn country.

The BBC's Mohamed Moalimu in Mogadishu says 37 patients were taken to Mogadishu airport on Thursday morning, but one person died before the flight took off.

Continue reading the main story Al-Shabab means "The Youth" in Arabic Formed as a radical offshoot of the Union of Islamic Courts in 2006 Affiliated to al-Qaeda Controls large swathes of south and central SomaliaKilled 76 people in double attack in Uganda during 2010 football World Cup Estimated to have 7,000 to 9,000 fighters Somalia's Justice Minister Ahmed Bile, who is head of a special committee set up to deal with the aftermath of the attack, said the most of the patients being airlifted to Turkey were suffering from bad burns.

"The Somali government thanks the government and people of Turkey for rushing to the aid of the victims of the deadly attack," the cabinet said in a statement.

Our reporter says Mogadishu's main hospital has been struggling to cope with the wounded. Some people were lying outside for treatment when President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed visited on Wednesday, the day after the blast.

He announced that a $100,000 (£65,000) fund had been set up to treat the victims and help relatives of those who died.

The president - a former Islamist fighter - heads the weak UN-backed transitional government which relies on the 9,000-strong African Union force for its security.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991 - the transitional government and Islamist militias are competing for control of the country.

Al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaeda, controls large swathes of south and central Somalia.

Somalia's political instability has been compounded in the past year by the worst drought in 60 years, which has forced tens of thousands of people to flee to Mogadishu in search of food.

The UN has declared a famine in six regions of Somalia.

Mogadishu map

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Friday, September 23, 2011

Weapons prize for Somali children

  An al-Shabab official urged the children to use their guns to defend Islam A radio station run by Somalia's al-Shabab Islamist group has awarded weapons to children who won a Koran-reciting and general knowledge contest.
Andulus radio, based near Mogadishu, gave the group which won first prize in the Ramadan competition an AK-47 rifle and the equivalent of $700 (£450).
The second prize-winners received an AK-47 and $500, while the third prize was two hand grenades and $400.
Al-Shabab, linked to al-Qaeda, controls much of southern and central Somalia.
It recently withdrew from the capital, Mogadishu, where the UN-backed government is in charge.
Four children, aged 10-17, were chosen to represent each district in the competition held during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ended in August.
"Youths should use one hand for education and the other for a gun to defend Islam," senior al-Shabab official Mukhtar Robow told the prize-giving ceremony in Elasha, 20km (12 miles) from Mogadishu.
The winners were also given religious books.
The BBC's Mohamed Moalimu in Mogadishu says this is the third year the contest has been held.
In previous years, when the competition was organised in the southern port of Kismayo, the first prize included an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade launcher).
Somalia is currently suffering from a severe drought, which has been declared a famine in some areas run by al-Shabab.
Al-Shabab is restricting access to many international aid groups, saying they have a political agenda and are exaggerating the scale of the drought.