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AMISOM Denies Part in Somalia Mosque Bombing

   Peter Clottey 10 May 2010

   AMISOM troops

   A  top official of the African Unionâs Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has
   dismissed the allegation that peacekeepers are to blame for the recent
   mosque bombing that killed dozens in the capital, Mogadishu.

   Major  Barigye Ba-Huko, AMISOMâs spokesman, said hard line insurgents,
   including  al-Shabab,  started  suicide bombings to terrorize ordinary
   Somalis   and   topple   President   Sheikh   Sharif   Sheikh  Ahmedâs
   internationally backed Transitional Federal Government.

   âAs  everyone  knows the al-Shabab manufactured and introduced suicide
   bombings  in  Somalia. So, all the times that the conflicts in Somalia
   have  been  going  on,  there had never been any time of that warfare.
   Itâs not even the culture of the Somalis,â he said.

   Last  weekâs  mosque  bombing  killed  at least 32 and injured several
   others.

   Sheikh  Fuad  Mohamed  Shongole,  a  leading  member  of the hard-line
   insurgent  group  al-Shabab,  blamed AMISOM for the attack claiming he
   was the target of the bombing.

   Sheikh  Shongole, who was injured during the mosque attack, reportedly
   spoke  on  a  local  Somali  radio station and blamed foreign security
   firms working for AMISOM for the attack.

   But, AMISOMâs spokesman Ba-Huko denied the accusation.

   âIt  is  also known that the area they are talking about is very close
   to  Bakara  Market.  And, it is known in Mogadishu that Bakara Market
   is,  virtually  speaking,  a  no-go  area  for anyone else.  It is an
   exclusive  area  for  them. So, one would wonder how AMISOM managed to
   get  to  get  into  that  place.  So, I think it is just a question of
   desperate (desperation) on their part,â Ba-Huko said.

   In a statement following the bombing, Somali Cause, a non-governmental
   action group, condemned the attack saying the ongoing conflict between
   the  Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces and insurgent groups
   has  caused  heavy  casualties  and  the  displacement of thousands of
   civilians mainly women, children and the elderly

   Critics,  including  insurgent  groups,  have  often accused AMISOM of
   shelling  civilian  areas indiscriminately resulting in heavy civilian
   casualties  and  huge destruction of property - - a charge the African
   Union Mission denies.

   Ba-Huko  said  AMISOM  is  not  in  the  business  of  killing unarmed
   civilians.

   âWe  would  have no reason as AMISOM to use unconventional means.  We
   must sustain the support of the people.  Iâm saying you cannot (kill)
   the  same  peopleâ¦whom you are trying to win over.  We provide a lot
   of  humanitarian  assistance  to  these  Somalis and we have no reason
   whatsoever  to  go  into  a  mosque and plant there an IED (Improvised
   Explosive device),â Ba-Huko said.

   He  said  the  African Union Mission is working closely with President
   Ahmedâs government to protect unarmed civilians.

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