Grieving Somalis defy gunfire to rally at site of bombings

THOUSANDS of Somalis demonstrated yesterday against terrorists behind bombings that killed more than 300 people, defying police who opened fire to keep them away from the site where their loved ones perished.

The twin blasts in the heart of Mogadishu on Saturday also injured more than 400 people in what were the country’s deadliest truck bombings.

Police opened fire to prevent people from accessing the rubble-strewn scene of the attack, injuring at least two people, officials said. But overwhelmed by the number of protesters, they eventually let thousands gather at the site. Residents said it was the largest protest they had seen in the city.

“We are demonstrating against the terrorists that massacred our people. We entered the road by force,” said Halima Abdullahi, a mother who lost six family members in the attacks.

The Islamist militant group alshabaab, which began an insurgency in 2007, has not claimed responsibility, but the method and type of attack – a large truck bomb – is increasingly used by the al Qaeda-linked organisation.