Somalia's prime minister narrowly escaped assassination on Wednesday when a woman suicide bomber carried out an attack at the country's National Theatre.
Somalia's prime minister narrowly escaped assassination on Wednesday when a woman suicide bomber carried out an attack at the country's National Theatre, killing herself and the country's two most senior sports officials.
The explosion happened as the prime minister, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, took to the podium at a ceremony in the capital, Mogadishu, to celebrate the first anniversary of the launch of a national satellite television station.
He and other senior officials from the Western-backed transitional government escaped unharmed or with only minor injuries, despite being the targets of an attack orchestrated by al-Shabaab, Somalia's jihadists linked to al-Qaeda.
However, four people watching from the 200-strong crowd were killed, including the heads of Somalia's Olympic committee and its football federation, and a well-known female playwright.
There had been growing confidence in Mogadishu that the expulsion of al-Shabaab from the capital last year had led to the beginning of a return to normal life.
Three weeks ago, the reopening of the National Theatre for its first performance after 20 years of war was a strong symbol of that change. But the building was turned into a scene of carnage yesterday as the crowd struggled to carry the wounded to safety.
Sa'dia Mohamed Hassan was sitting in the crowd three rows behind the suicide bomber, who was only three rows behind the Prime Minister for much of the ceremony.
"We suspected her because she came with no ID and no invitation, but at first she refused to allow the police to check her," said Miss Hassan, a television journalist attending the event to receive an award. "When they pointed their guns at her, she lifted her long gown a bit, and nothing was seen, and the police allowed her to sit."
As the prime minister stood to give his speech, the woman became "busy, looking down, her hands inside her gown" and then "she stood up one more time and exploded," said Miss Hassan.
An investigation has begun into how the woman evaded security checks, and why she was not properly searched when suspicions were raised.
In condemning the barbaric attack, Matt Baugh, Britain's ambassador to Somalia, said it would only serve to strengthen our resolve to help the Somali people bring lasting peace and stability to their country.
More than 40 of those injured during the explosion were treated at the city's Medina Hospital, with more than 30 still under heavy sedation last night.
Brig Gen Audace Nduwumunsi, deputy commander of the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia, said the attack was an attempt to "derail the hopes and dreams of the Somali people".
"The terrorists … will fail," he said. "Yet again the terrorists' methods show that they are enemies of peace and are foreign to Somali culture."
Al-Shabaab, which still controls most of the south of the country, warned yesterday that it would hunt down and execute government officials slavishly serving and helping the invaders.
Kenyan and Ethiopian troops are both in Somalia battling alongside the AU force in an attempt to crush the Islamists.
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