Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Grieving Somalis search, lose hope
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Families scoured Somalia’s capital Tuesday in search of scores still missing from Saturday’s bombing that killed more than 300 people.
Sitting outside a hospital mortuary, Hodan Ali searched for her brother by showing people his photo on the screen of her mobile phone.
Taxi driver Abdiqadir Ali, 50, was last seen Saturday on his way to a hotel to pick up a rider just before the bombing on a busy street.
Hodan Ali, a mother of four, said she had visited most of Mogadishu’s hospitals but neither she nor other family members found any sign of him.
“I am about to give up,” she said, tears running over her veil. “Nothing is more painful than not knowing the whereabouts of your loved ones, whether life or death.”
Across Mogadishu, Somalia’s flag flew at half-staff, marking three days of national mourning.
The death toll of 302 is expected to rise. Nearly 70 people were missing, based on accounts from relatives, police Capt. Mohamed Hussein said.
“My son has gone missing since the day of the attack. I would be very lucky if I had a portion of his body,” Abdulkadir Mohamud said, breaking down in tears. “I do not have even his flesh. Please bring my son back.”
With nearly 400 people wounded, with some burned beyond recognition, international aid arrived to help overwhelmed hospitals.
A U.S. military plane landed in Mogadishu with medical and humanitarian supplies. Dozens of critically injured have been airlifted to Turkey for treatment. A medical team from Djibouti arrived for more evacuations, and neighboring Kenya said it would evacuate 31 people and deliver 11 tons of medical supplies.
Somalia’s government has blamed the attack on the al-Shabab extremist group, which has not commented.
But analysts said there is little doubt that Africa’s deadliest Islamic extremist group carried out the bombing.
“No other group in Somalia has the capacity to put together a bomb of this size, in this nature,” said Matt Bryden, a security consultant on the Horn of Africa. Analysts have suggested that al-Shabab, an ally of al-Qaida, may have avoided taking responsibility because it did not want to be blamed for the deaths of so many civilians.
Al-Shabab has waged war in Somalia for more than a decade, often targeting high-profile areas of the capital. Earlier this year, it vowed to step up attacks after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, and Somalia’s recently elected Somali-American president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, announced new military efforts against the extremists. Mohamed vowed to wipe them out within two years.
The U.S. military has stepped up drone strikes and other efforts this year against al-Shabab, which is also fighting a 22,000-strong African Union force in the country.
Saturday’s bombing further battered an impoverished country left fragile by decades of conflict, and it raised more doubts about the government’s ability to secure the seaside capital of more than 2 million people.
International condemnation has poured in, with the United States calling the attack “cowardly” and the United Nations special envoy to Somalia calling it “revolting.” Michael Keating said the U.N. and African Union were supporting the Somali government’s response with “logistical support, medical supplies and expertise.”
The U.N. Security Council stood in silent tribute to the victims Tuesday and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asked to meet with Somali minister Abdullahi Hamud to personally extend his condolences. Hamud, who is minister of state in the prime minister’s office, is at U.N. headquarters in New York for Africa Week activities.
After three days, many family members of those still missing in the bombing are giving up.
Afrah Ibrahim, 30, searched for clues of what happened to his sister by using a stick to pick through clothes of victims buried in a cemetery. He did not find any worn by his sister.
Lowering his head, he said, “I am done.”
“I am about to give up. Nothing is more painful than not knowing the whereabouts of your loved ones, whether life or death.” — Hodan Ali
Information for this article was contributed by Mohamed Sheikh Nor of The Associated Press.