MOGADISHU, Jan.25 -- The African Union (AU) peacekeeping forces in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, said on Sunday that they have credible information of possible further suicide attacks against them.
The warning came a day after a suicide car bomb exploded close to a base of the AU peacekeepers in the south of the city.
Speaking to local media, Bridgeye Bahoku, spokesman for the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), said that other suicide car bombs are "ready and can be used to target AMISOM bases in Mogadishu at any moment".
"We have been given this information by some residents of the capital who told us that two Toyota pickup vehicles will be used, possibly the type used by the Somali police force," Bahouku told local Shabelle radio.
On Saturday a suicide car bomb aimed at the AMISOM base blew up before reaching the target after a policeman fired at it when the driver refused to stop, killing nearly 17 civilians in a bus and wounded 37 others including bystanders.
Police later said that the suicide bomber was a foreigner from an Arab state which they did not specify. The Al-Qaida linked Al-shabaab movement has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.
Nearly 3,400 African peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi are currently deployed as part of an initially UN-authorized 8,000-strong AU peacekeeping force in Somalia. Several other African countries that pledged to contribute have not yet done so citing logistical and financial constraints.
No comments:
Post a Comment