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2020 Afgoye bombing
Part of the Somali Civil War (2009–present)
AfgoyeAfgoye (Somalia)
Location	Afgoye, Somalia
Date	18 January 2020 (2020-01-18)
Attack type	Car bombing
Weapons	Car bomb
Deaths	4 (+1 suicide bomber)
Injured	20

On January 18, 2020, a car bomb killed four and injured at least 20 others in Afgoye approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Most of the casualties were police officers protecting Turkish contractors building a road. The al-Qaida linked extremist group, al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.

Background

Al-Shabaab began as the armed wing of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which later splintered into several smaller factions after its defeat in 2006 by Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the TFG's Ethiopian military allies. The group often carries out attacks in and around Mogadishu. Al Shabaab carries out bombings to try to undermine Somalia’s central government, which is backed by the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping troops.

In October 2017, more than 500 people were killed by twin bomb explosions in Somalia's capital city Mogadishu.

Turkish involvement in Somalia

Turkey is a large donor for Somalia humanitarian aid and reconstruction. Turkey maintained an embassy in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, until the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991. During the drought of 2011, Turkey contributed over $201 million to the humanitarian relief efforts in the impacted parts of Somalia. Turkey assisted in the building of several hospitals, and helped renovate and rehabilitate the Aden Adde International Airport and the National Assembly building, among other initiatives..

Attack

Al-Shabab militants detonated a car bomb near Afgoye approximately 30 kilometers from Mogadishu. A Somali police commander said the intended target was Turkish construction workers. The suicide bomber sped into an area where the engineers and police were having lunch. Local witnesses described a "massive explosion" and "clouds of smoke". The causalities were mostly police officers providing security. Following the attack, al-Shabab issued a statement "We are behind the martyrdom of the suicide car bomb in Afgoye"

Reactions

•  Turkey The Turkish defense ministry wrote on Twitter "We curse and condemn in the strongest terms the bomb terror attack which targeted innocent civilians in Somalia"

References

1. ^ Al Jazeera https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/01/somalia-turkish-workers-wounded-deadly-al-shabab-car-bombing-200118134453840.html. Retrieved 18 January 2020. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
2. "At Least 2 Killed, 20 Wounded in Bombing Near Somali Capital". New York Times.
3. ^ "Al-Shabab Claims Responsibility For Suicide Car Bombing In Somalia". Forces.net.
4. "'So Much to Fear' | War Crimes and the Devastation of Somalia". Human Rights Watch. 8 December 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
5. Abdisaid M. Ali 2008, "The Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahidiin: A profile of the first Somali terrorist organisation", Institut für Strategie Politik Sicherheits und Wirtschaftsberatung (ISPSW), Berlin, Germany, June. Retrieved on 26 August 2008.
6. ^ Sheikh, Abdi. "Car bomb attack wounds Turkish contractors, police near Somali capital". Reuters.
7. "Death toll from Somalia truck bomb in October now at 512: probe committee". Reuters. 30 November 2017.
8. "Al-Shabab claims deadly attack in Somalia's Mogadishu". Al Jazeera.
9. "Embassy of the Somali Federal Republic in Ankara". Embassy of the Somali Federal Republic in Ankara. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
10. "Turkey raises $201 million for Somalia". Hurriyet. 26 August 2011.
11. Why Turkish aid model is proving to be a success in Somalia and elsewhere, Rasna Warah, Saturday Nation, 1 April 2012.