Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Tuesday October 17, 2017
By Morgan Modjeski
Ali Abukar speaks at the Voice of Youth Leadership Summit at TCU Place in Saskatoon, Sask. on Thursday, Feb.16, 2017. Liam Richards / Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Saskatoon's Somali community is mourning after two members in Saskatoon were directly affected by a massive truck bombing in the country's capital city of Mogadishu on Saturday.
Two members of Saskatoon’s Somali community were personally affected by a massive truck bombing in the country’s capital city of Mogadishu on Saturday.
Aamin Ambulance, a free ambulance agency that serves the city, posted on its Twitter account on Monday the “sad news” that the bombing’s death toll has risen to 302 people, citing “different medical institutions.”
Ali Abukar, who has been acting as a representative of the city’s Somali community, told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix he’s spoken to two people in the city who were personally affected by the attack, calling it a “tragic incident.”
“People are still mourning,” he said. “They’re very shocked about what happened.”
An uncle of Mohamed Hajinoor, a community leader, was injured as a result of the blast, Abukar said. A sister of Ayanle Mohamed — a younger refugee who’s new to Saskatoon — died in the blast, and another sister remains missing, he added.
“As a community, we’re still kind of processing what’s happened,” he said. “People have been sharing their thoughts and prayers with those who have been affected.”
Information is still being relayed to people in Saskatoon, but community members are already working to support each other, offering condolences and sharing information through social media, he said.
According to the Associated Press, the Somalian government blamed al-Shabab — an-al-Qaida-linked terrorist organization — for the attack, but the Islamic extremist group has not claimed responsibility.
Abukar, who also serves as executive director of the Saskatoon Open Door Society, was born and grew up in Mogadishu and still has relatives living in the area. He said coming to the aid of people in Saskatoon who are dealing with loss as a result of the attack is the “duty” of the Somali community.
“In these kind of difficult times, people support each other,” he said, noting the problems in Somalia have been ongoing.
People who want to help can do so by joining a plea for the international community — including the Canadian government — to do more to support the Somali government and non-government organizations working in the region helping the country “stand on its own feet,” he said.
The University of Saskatchewan Somali Students’ Association also spoke up. “We offer our deepest condolences to our brethren in Mogadishu,” the group posted on its Facebook page as part of a larger online message.
Aamin Ambulance noted the number of people injured by the blast is expected to climb, with some reports pegging the number of injured at 400 and many still missing.