Tuesday, October 14, 2014
UNITED NATIONS, (Xinhua) -- UN envoy Nicholas Kay on Monday condemned a car bomb attack in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, which killed at least 15 people, saying that "the perpetrators need to be brought to justice swiftly."
Kay, the UN secretary-general's special representative for Somalia, called the attack a cruel and despicable crime against civilians, said Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, at a press briefing here.
At least 15 people were killed and 18 others wounded at a popular cafe in Mogadishu on Sunday night when a car packed with explosives was detonated nearby, reports said.
Somali President Hassan Sheik Mohamud condemned the attack in a speech broadcast Sunday night, and he accused the Shabab, a militant group with ties to al-Qaida, of carrying out the bombing.
Kay condemned the attack on the cafe in Mogadishu, describing the bombing as an "appalling terrorist attack against innocent civilians."
"The use of such indiscriminate tactics against the Somali people is a cruel and despicable crime," Kay said. "I commend the swift response of Somalia's security and medical staff. The perpetrators need to be brought to justice swiftly."
No group had yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but members of the Shabab have vowed to retaliate for the death of their leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, who was killed last month in a U. S. airstrike.
Last week, Somali and African Union forces pushed Shabab militants out of the strategic port towns of Barawe and Adale, though none of the militant fighters or their weapons were captured.
Meanwhile, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, Philippe Lazzarini, called for stepped-up aid operations to save lives in areas stricken by drought and conflict, Haq said at a daily news briefing here.
Haq quoted Lazzarini as saying that communities in southern, central and north-eastern Somalia have been the most affected, with many in desperate need of food, water and health care.