MOGADISHU Thursday, 2nd January 2020: Hundreds Somalis took to the streets of Mogadishu on Thursday to protest in a rare show of defiance against the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab terrorist group following spate of recent deadly attacks that have left more than a hundred mostly civilians killed.
The protests were prompted by the attack that happened on the 28th of December when a car bomb exploded at a busy traffic intersection killing around 90 people and injuring dozens of others in the capital Mogadishu.
The group through its pro-media claimed the responsibility of the attack. Following the protest, the terror group took the unprecedented step to explain why they carried out the attack in which mainly civilians died.
Protests against the Somali based Al-Shabaab are uncommon, as many fear that the crowds may be attacked. In the past, Somalis have protested silently instead by wearing red bandanas to symbolise the bloodshed.
The terror group explained that they were targeting Turkish and foreign forces and after realizing that their claimed attack failed to attained their desired outcomes added that the numbers of dead Somalis attack had been highly exaggerated.
For nearly ten years of brutal Islamist insurgency in Somalia and hundreds of deadly attacks, fear of Al-Shabaab resurgence is turning to rage. Many protesters chanted slogans calling for Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, the president, to step down saying his government has failed to protect its citizens against the ragtag militia.
The jihadist group has infiltrated parts of the government and security services, allowing it to continue launching high-level attacks and still controls large parts of the country and makes millions of dollars through extensive smuggling and racketeering operations.
The Saturday attack was the deadliest to hit the country since a truck exploded in 2017 near a fuel tanker in Mogadishu, killing nearly 600 people.
The recent successful attacks in Somalia have prompted fears that the Al-Qaeda-allied group is going through a resurgence and thus all counter-terrorism and military intelligence assets taking part on war against terror in Somalia need to be alert to thwart more attacks in the coming days and months.
