Bomb explodes in Mogadishu

2005-05-03 11:22

Mogadishu - At least seven people were killed and 28 wounded on Tuesday by a blast in a stadium in the capital Mogadishu where the country's transitional prime minister was addressing a crowd.

The rally was intended to build support for his exiled government.

The prime minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi, was not injured and was immediately rushed away from the scene.

Government officials said that Gedi was taken to "a safe location" north of Mogadishu.

Hundreds of people had gathered in the stadium to hear Gedi discuss plans to bring the government to Mogadishu. Somalia has been without a central government since 1991, when clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned their weapons on each other.

Gedi arrived in Somalia on Friday for his first trip home since he took office. Hundreds of people cheered Gedi when he arrived at the airport, where members of Somalia's former military formed a guard of honour for him. Trumpets sounded and the Somali national anthem played.

But Islamic extremists and some of the country's dozens of warlords oppose the new government, which was formed in neighbouring Kenya under the auspices of a regional bloc, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, and the European Union.

Even though the government was formed in 2004, it has not been able to return to Mogadishu because of security fears. Tuesday's explosion appeared to confirm those concerns. AFP/AP

- News24