Al Shabaab fighters attacked President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s convoy that was traveling through the capital Mogadishu.
Qatar has condemned an attack on the motorcade of the Somali president on Tuesday, which resulted in the killing of four people.
“The State of Qatar has strongly condemned Tuesday’s explosion targeting HE President of the Federal Republic of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s convoy in Mogadishu,” a statement by Qatar’s foreign ministry said.
Doha stressed its firm position in denouncing and rejecting violence and terrorism.
The Gulf state expressed its condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Somalia.
Mohamud’s convoy was attacked by Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab forces while traveling through the capital. The Somali president escaped the attack, with his adviser confirming that he was “good and well on his way to the front lines”.
The bomb attack took place near the presidential palace, according to Reuters.
oldiers on the ground in Mogadishu reported that Mohamud’s motorcade had been struck, while witnesses described the aftermath of the explosion near Villa Somalia, the presidential palace.
“Our fighters targeted a convoy of vehicles carrying Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as they were leaving the presidential palace and heading to the airport,” Al-Shabaab confirmed in a statement on the group’s Telegram channel.
Destabilisation
Tuesday’s assault was the first to directly attack Somalia’s president since 2014.
The attack occurred at a busy intersection as Mohamud was heading to the frontlines to confront armed fighters in Somalia.
The group has been trying to destabilise the central Somali government for more than a decade.
In October 2022, Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for killing at least 121 people and wounding 300 more in a double car bombing attack on the country’s Ministry of Education in Mogadishu.
The conflict has lead to the displacement of over 3.8 million people in the Horn of Africa, and some 6.7 million people have suffered from inaccessibility to basic food needs.
