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Al-Ahed Telegram

Somalia Calls for Blood Donations after Bombing

Somalia Calls for Blood Donations after Bombing
folder_openAfrica... access_time6 years ago
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Local Editor

Somalia is in desperate need for donated blood to treat survivors of a truck bombing in the capital Mogadishu Saturday that killed more than 300 people and injured at least 400 others, a minister said.

Somalia Calls for Blood Donations after Bombing

The bombing was one of the worst such attacks in Somalia. Officials said it bore the hallmarks of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab group, but they have not claimed responsibility.

Information Minister Abdirahman Omar Osman said Somalia does not have a blood bank and that the limitations of its health care system was impeding the medical response. Countries including Turkey and Qatar are providing medical assistance.

"We are requesting blood, we are requesting assistance for verifying the dead in order for their relatives to know," Osman told Reuters by phone from Mogadishu.

Somalia has been mired in conflict since 1991, when clan warlords overthrew a dictator then turned on each other. One of the poorest countries in Africa, it faces severe food insecurity and relies on foreign donors to support its institutions and basic services.

Osman said the bodies of more than 100 people buried on Monday "were blown beyond recognition", and that he hoped other bodies could still be identified.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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