A Somalian Nugaal region governor, Abdisalan Hassan, was killed in an al-Shabab suicide bomb blast. The bomber rushed to his vehicle and detonated explosives. He sustained severe injuries from the blast and had very little chance of surviving.
Abdisalan was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition and despite the efforts of doctors to save his life, he died less than an hour after he was admitted to the intensive care ward. A former police commander and a civilian were also wounded in the blast and are currently under treatment.
The Al-Shabab terrorist group which has been fighting to overthrow Somalia’s internationally recognized government, claimed responsibility for the attack. This single act is a strong political statement to the Somalia government and must be addressed promptly with necessary measures to check the group’s relentless attacks on the state since it’s inception.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, “since 2006, al-Shabab has capitalized on the frailty of Somalia’s central government, despite the government’s strengthening in recent years, to control large swaths of ungoverned territory. The terrorist group reached its peak in 2011 when it controlled parts of the capital city of Mogadishu and the vital port of Kismayo. Kenyan troops, operating as part of AMISOM, entered Somalia later that year and successfully pushed al-Shabab out of most of its strongholds.”
However, they have continued to perpetuate their terrorist activities in Somalia and neighbouring states causing socio-economic effects on the affected regions. The economic situation of Somalia has constantly been thrown into greater turbulence since the Federal Government was founded in 2012. Also, the inevitability of life is reduced, especially when terrorists kill civilians, children, and women which then give rise to societal discord. They also disrupt the social fabric of society by depriving children of their loved ones, mutilating others, and denying some of the survivors their source of livelihoods.
It has also triggered geopolitical conflicts and continual political instability in Somalia and its neighboring states. This country has fought for over twenty years without a stable and legitimate government and the incessant attacks in the state has made it impossible to provide basic amenities which include hospitals, food, medical care, work, housing, schools, and others basic infrastructures.
More so, al-Shabaab’s activities have evolved into conflicts that have led to severe degradation on the environment, which has hampered rapid economic growth and development.
Given these factors, all hands have to be on deck to collectively stop the activities of the group. More education and better negotiation should be employed. The elected governments should vigorously educate the youth on the atrocities carried out on the African continent by the al-Shabaab militant group and the damage done to the country. Governments should be open to negotiation in order to avert terrorism, as well as to halt the cycle of violence and retaliation between groups.
