Egypt has strongly condemned the attack targeting the convoy of the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, in Mogadishu on Tuesday, which resulted in deaths and injuries. Al Shabaab, an Islamist group, claimed responsibility for the bomb attack.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Egypt expressed its strong condemnation of the “terrorist attack” and reiterated its rejection of all forms of violence and terrorism aimed at destabilising security and stability in Somalia.
“Egypt expresses its strong condemnation of this criminal terrorist act, and rejects all forms of violence and terrorism aimed at destabilising security and stability in the sisterly Federal Republic of Somalia,” the statement read.
Egypt affirmed its full solidarity with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the people of Somalia.
Two senior government and military officials confirmed to Reuters that Mohamud was safe following the attack. Presidential advisor Zakariye Hussein stated in a post on X that the President was “good and well on his way to the front lines.”
Soldiers and local residents who witnessed the attack confirmed that the president’s convoy had been hit. A Reuters journalist at the scene saw the bodies of four people killed in the assault near the presidential palace.
Al Shabaab said in a statement posted on its Telegram channel, linked to al Qaeda, that “Our fighters targeted a convoy of vehicles carrying Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as they were leaving the presidential palace and heading to the airport.”
While al Shabaab regularly carries out attacks in Somalia as part of its decades-long campaign to topple the government, Tuesday’s attack marked the first time they have directly targeted Mohamud since 2014, when during his first term in office, they bombed a hotel where he was speaking.
Egypt extended its condolences and sympathy to the government and people of Somalia, as well as to the families of the victims of the attack, and expressed its wishes for a speedy recovery to those injured.
