Two school children and three others were killed in a bombing this past Sunday in the capital of Somalia. Nine people were also injured. Sunday is a school day for a majority in the majority of Muslim Horn of Africa nations. This region has endured significant fighting and is patrolled daily by government troops and Ethiopian allies.

Thousands have been killed this year because of the periodic gunfire and attacks of government officials and stations. Random attacks have been so frequent, that troops are more concentrated on their own safety than that of the people and city. However, in this attack no government troop was in the area. Witnesses reported that the bomb was planted near the school in south Mogadishu where hundreds of students attend.

Again, remnants of the Islamic court’s militias and those unhappy with the presence of Ethiopian troops have been blamed for the bombing. These groups have also been blamed for a grenade attack on police officers that killed one civilian and another grenade attack in the capital’s main market that killed one person and wounded five. In many attacks, civilians are the ones killed or injured. The tactics are widely viewed as “barbaric”.

For more information please see:

“5 Somalis killed in violence, nine hurt” Yahoo News: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070826/ap_on_re_af/somalia;_ylt=At07Xtk5twFyd3Q5smB5QCu96Q8F 26, Aug. 2007.

“Somalia: Roadside Bomb Explosion Kills 2 Students in Mogadishu” AllAfrica.com: http://allafrica.com/stories/200708260009.html 26, Aug. 2007.

“Fear Stalk Somalia’s Capital Once Again” BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6252359.stm 11, Jan. 2007.