Five car bombs hit Hargeisa and Bosasso
on 29 Oct 2008
A total of five "VERY VERY BIG" car bombs
have reportedly hit Somaliland. Three targetted the Puntland Intelligence Service in
Bossasso, another at the UNDP office and one at the Elections Commission. The two other bombs reportedly targetted the Ethiopian embassy in
Hargeisa' Somaliland. There are unconfirmed reports that 3 people were killed and 8 wounded at the UNDP compound where a car reportedly entered the UNDP compound. While in Bossaso a
"vehicle borne improvised explosive device" caused multiple casualties. The attacks come after
the news yesterday that the Puntland leader,
Gen. Adde Muse, plans war ahead of the
early 2009 elections,
The president of Somalia's semiautonomous state of Puntland, Gen. Adde Muse, has reportedly authorized government officials to "prepare" security forces for an upcoming war with Somaliland, a neighboring region that aspires for independence. link
UPDATE: The
Twitter message pasted above from an aid worker first broke the news to me one hour before the
BBC report on the bombings. Aid agencies, NGOs and journalists should really be looking at using
Twitter to get initial reports out quickly.
UPDATE: The
BBC report,
at least 29 people have died in a wave of coordinated car-bombings across northern Somalia. Most of the casualties were in the Somaliland capital, Hargeisa, where the presidential palace, Ethiopian consulate and UN offices were targeted. link
UPDATE: Local TV reporters with HCTV on the spot as the explosions took place. This is reportedly from Hargeisa
[video:youtube:sPOW4rxwuRk]
