NEWS– Business came to a standstill yesterday evening at the Bakara Main Market in Somalia Capital City Mogadishu, after eight people were killed and 19 others injured following a series of bomb attacks by suspected al Shabaab militants.
The Head of the market’s business community, Hassan Abdi Ahmed told journalists that the explosions targeted a chain of wholesale shops that sell electronics in the market where a blast in one of the Shops killed two employees and customers in the market were among the deceased and authorities said the explosions were caused by devices planted in the stores.
The Deputy Mayor of Mogadishu Mohamed Ahmed Diriye said that they have instituted investigations and the security agencies are busy working and will update later for security and policy.
Authorities did not disclose the motive of the attacks against the businesses, but a security officer who did not want to be named because he is not allowed to speak to the media, told journalists that the attacks are related to the installation of CCTV cameras by the businesses.
It should be remembered that Somalia’s security agencies last year urged the businesses to install security cameras and some of the store owners said they later received anonymous calls from people claiming to be from al-Shabab, who warned them against the installations.
The al Shabaab militants are reported to have feared the CCTV cameras would help security organs identify their members and Somali Cecurity Agencies had recorded incidents of al-Shabab militants intimidating businesses as part of an extortion campaign.
The United States has reported that al-Shabab generates an estimated US 100 million dollars annually that is collected through illicit taxations, mandatory donations and extortions, but the Somali government, last year claimed al-Shabab’s revenues have been cut in half following the implementation of security measures, including the shutting down of suspected bank and mobile money accounts, and targeting militants taxation officials.
The attack also comes at a time when Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency revealed that they had managed to completely shut down”14 news websites allegedly operated by the extremist group al-Shabab.
Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency said that following a cybersecurity operation, its cyber division had identified sites working to advance illicit activities by al-Shabab, which is affiliated to al-Qaida.
Somali Deputy Information Minister Abdirahman Yusuf Adala told journalists that the operation involved the investigation of suspicious websites and identification of their registered owners and the operation is part of the Somali Federal Government’s fight against terrorism and extremism.
Minister Adala made it categorically clear that the government Intelligence Agency had shut down the websites because the al-Shabab terrorist group have been using the sites to disseminate its misguided ideology and their jihadist propaganda.
Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency also revealed that it also shut down 20 WhatsApp groups allegedly operated by al-Shabab for the purposes of extortion and intimidation and managed to disable data services for approximately 2,500 phone numbers associated with them.
However, the latest bomb attack at the Bakara Main Market which is the biggest in Mogadishu has left the leaders puzzled but the government has promised to initiate the second phase of its offensive against al-Shabab in their southern Somalia stronghold.
Additional Reporting From Al Jazeera Africa.
