Devastating news: Somalia rocked by ordnance explosion leaving 22 dead!

It was a catastrophic day for southern Somalia on Friday June 9, 2023, as a total of 22 souls were lost, including two innocent children. The distressing event came in the form of mortar shells exploding in the vicinity, according to a local district official, Abdi Ahmed Ali.

The devastating news was announced during a press conference, prompting Ali to request assistance from the authorities to clear the area of unexploded ordnance, which he claims looms large across the region and poses a significant threat to public safety.

Ibrahim Hassan, a resident of Qoryoley, was one of the many people devastated by the news, sharing with AFP that the majority of the victims were young children who had tragically lost their lives in a nearby playground.

It is believed that the region is a target of the notorious group, al-Shabaab, who have been waging a war against the internationally-backed Somali federal government since 2007. The extremist group has been notoriously linked to al-Qaeda and was responsible for the death of 54 Ugandan peacekeepers in a vicious attack on an African Union base in Bulo Marer last month.

The group may have been driven out of Somali’s metropolitan areas, but they possess considerable power in rural areas and use this to execute devastating attacks on both civilian and security targets.