Al Shabab Islamists detonated a truck bomb in a busy intersection in the heart of the Somali capital on Saturday afternoon, 14 October 2017. The Associated Press (AP), quoting Somali government sources, put the number of dead about 350, a figure that is destined to rise as many dead victims are still buried under mountains of rubble. Many of the hundreds of the wounded victims would succumb to their grave injuries. This major bombing was the third explosion in the city on that fateful day but the largest single-day massacre Somalia has ever witnessed.
Several Somali Christians died in the attack including Fardawza Haji Hilowle Jama, 39, and her two minor children and Dr. Maryan Abdullahi Mo'alim Mohamed Geddi, 22, who died on the eve of her planned graduation from a medical school. Dr. Maryan attended a local house-church in the center of the capital and played a significant role in the raising and the distribution of drought relief funds in the last two years. An article by the New York Times described Dr. Mayan as a “rising star.”[1]
Dr. Maryan is a relative of the late Somali Christian evangelist, Ali Mustaf Maka’il, who was shot and killed in Mogadishu at the age of 22 in 2006 by the now-defunct Union of Islamic Courts, Al Shabab's predecessor[2]. There are eight missing Somali Christians who were around Zope Street at the time of the explosion. No one knows where they are, but they presumed dead. The verified injured Somali Christians are eleven including four children.
Our prayers are with all the victims and their families during this difficult time.
Our prayers are with all the victims and their families during this difficult time.
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