The Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development (MoWHRD) of the Federal Government of Somalia is deeply shocked and saddened by the horrific and unprecedented terrorist attack on innocent civilians on the 14th of October 2017.
The 14th of October will go down in Somalia’s history as one of her darkest days. A day when hundreds of innocent and law abiding Somali citizens going about their businesses were needlessly massacred and maimed. A day when hundreds of ordinary men, women and children were mercilessly taken away from their families forever. This was a blatant attack on their fundamental right to life.
As we condole with the bereaved families and friends of the loved ones lost to the massacre, we take this opportunity to commend our President, His Excellency Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, for his leadership during these trying times and for declaring three days of national mourning.
The Somali provisional constitution guarantees protection for every child, woman and man in the country. This is time and again violated by terrorists who are opposed to peace and respect for human rights in Somalia. MoWHRD is committed to continue to promote protection of human rights in Somalia. We will neither be deterred nor distracted by acts of terror. We shall not be cowed by perpetrators of violence.
We call upon all our local and international development partners working in Somalia to remain steadfast and work with us to ensure that the people we lost did not die in vain. Many of those critically injured along with their families need our immediate help. Mothers and fathers have died leaving behind orphans, whose wellbeing needs to be addressed. The survivors who are suffering from trauma also need urgent help.
We take this earliest opportunity to thank and honor Somalis of all walks of life, especially our youth, who heeded the call for assistance to their brethren and came out in numbers to volunteer and offer support to the wounded by donating blood, carrying the wounded to the hospitals, clearing the streets of debris and donating food and water to the first responders. Similarly, we thank all the countries that have offered Somalia support, both material and moral, during these trying times.
In accordance with our mandate, the Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development will continue to ensure that human rights of all Somalis are protected accordingly.
God bless Somalia.
