On Thursday, October 29, 2009, was marked the first anniversary of the suicide bombings in Hargeysa, which left twenty four people dead and more than thirty others wounded. It was the first of it’s kind in Somaliland since the declaration of it’s independence from the rest of Somalia in 1992.
On the 29th October 2008 at around 10am the first car bomb exploded at the UNDP office, after one minute another one exploded at the Ethiopian Trade office just behind the presidency and the third one exploded in about two minutes after that at the Presidential Palace.
The unimaginable has occurred in Somaliland and majority of the people were not aware of what was happening. The whole city was under panic as the smoke raised to the sky, human bodies flying over and the sound of the explosion filled the ears of the city residents. People started to move here and there, all curious and wanting to know what was taking place at their city and country.
In no time, it was clear that what has always been seen on the TVs has arrived home. Car bomb, suicide attack and the similar things that are happening in places like Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries are not that far from Somaliland anymore. The same thing happened in Somaliland that day while people were witnessing.
Hargeysa hospital was full of dead bodies and those wounded in the attacks. With it’s limited medical assistance and equipment it managed to give the first medications to the victims. Some were flown to Nairobi, Djibouti and other countries for medication. The rest were treated by Hargeysa hospital’s heroic physicians and nurses.
After all, it was clear that the Al-Shabaab group who is based in Southern Somalia was behind the attack. The suicide bombers were identified and some were arrested in connection with the incident while others managed to escape to Mogadishu.
Since that time, Somaliland security forces have been proactive in carrying out operations against suspected terrorists in order to prevent such incidents from taking place in the future. The whole population is know helping the authorities in order to prevent from another tragedy. Many were arrested in the last couple of months and some explosives were captured by the police due to police and citizens being proactive on the fight against terrorism.
The attacks carried a message for the world that can be summarized as:
• Anything that is happening elsewhere in the world can happen in Somaliland and in the Horn of Africa. The actions of Al-Qaeda in Asia can be transferred to other places in the world be it in Somaliland and other countries.
• Al-Shabaab is specifically targeting Somaliland this time. They believe the country is a partner with Ethiopia and United States in the war against terror.
• Destabilizing Somaliland is a great opportunity for Al-Shabaab to expand their operations elsewhere in the Horn of Africa where they can establish new training camps and carry out attacks against other countries like Djibouti and Ethiopia.
• Al-Shabaab is not different from Alqaeda when it comes to the objectives, operations and danger. In a recent video, the Al-Shabaab leaders were praising Osama Bin Laden as being a hero and promised to take his path.
One year from that catastrophe day Somaliland has learned to improve it’s security and to take stronger measures against any possible attack in the future. Somaliland leaders need to focus on the external enemies that the country is facing rather than the internal affairs that is currently consuming most of the country’s resources. There is also a need to focus on the educational system in the country. The youth must be given enough awareness against such extreme ideologies.
Today marks a very sad day for the Somaliland people. Many families will remember their loved ones who died during the attacks and wounded will also remember the horrible situation they faced on that day.
Source: Somalilandpress Team
http://www.somalilandtimes.net/sl/2009/405//35.shtml
