A powerful car bomb blast late Sunday killed five people at a cafe in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, which was crowded with football fans watching the Euro 2024 final, according to local media and police reports. Images posted online showed a huge fireball and smoke billowing into the night sky as the explosion hit the popular Top Coffee Restaurant in the city center.
The Somali National News Agency (SONNA) reported that the car bomb was planted by “Kharijite terrorists,” a term used by officials to describe the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab jihadist group. Preliminary police reports confirmed five fatalities and around 20 injuries, as stated by police spokesman Major Abdifitah Aden Hassan.
The explosion occurred while young men were watching the match between Spain and England. An AFP journalist reported that firefighters, police, and ambulances quickly arrived at the scene. The area, which is close to the presidential palace compound known as Villa Somalia, was very busy at the time.
Al-Shabaab has been conducting a bloody insurgency against Somalia’s fragile federal government for over 17 years, carrying out numerous bombings in Mogadishu and other areas. Recently, there had been a lull in attacks as the government pursued an offensive against the militants. However, on Saturday, five inmates, allegedly Al-Shabaab fighters, were killed in a shootout with prison guards during an attempted jailbreak in Mogadishu. Three guards were also killed, and 18 others were wounded in the confrontation.
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has declared an “all-out” war against the jihadists, with government troops joining forces with local clan militias, supported by an African Union force and US airstrikes. Despite some setbacks, Al-Shabaab continues to have a strong presence in rural Somalia and has conducted repeated attacks against political, security, and civilian targets both in Somalia and neighboring countries like Kenya.
Last month, Somalia requested the African Union to slow down the planned withdrawal of its forces from the country. UN resolutions had called for the African Union Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) troop numbers to be reduced to zero by December 31, with security handed over to the Somali army and police. The third phase of the drawdown was to see 4,000 soldiers leave by the end of June. However, following Somalia’s request, the AU Peace and Security Council agreed to a phased approach, with 2,000 troops leaving in June and the remaining 2,000 in September.
