ROME — Pope Francis prayed Sunday that God “convert the hearts of the violent!” following Saturday’s Islamic terror attack in Somalia.
“As we celebrate Christ’s victory over evil and death, we pray for the victims of the terrorist attack in Mogadishu which killed more than 100 people, including many children,” the pontiff said Sunday following his weekly Angelus address in the Vatican.
“May God convert the hearts of the violent!” he told the 35,000 tourists and pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter’s Square.
Twin car bomb explosions killed more than 100 people and wounded over 300 more in Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu Saturday, in a suicide attack claimed by the al-Shabaab jihadist group. Among the casualties were women, children and the elderly, as well as journalists and police officers, police spokesman Sadik Dudishe said.
One of the explosive-laden cars blew up outside Somalia’s Education Ministry building, while the other vehicle reportedly drove into the building itself. The attack took place at the exact location where a truck bomb exploded in October 2017, killing 587 people, mostly civilians, Somalia’s deadliest terror attack.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has declared all-out war on the radical Islamists, vowing to step up the offensive against terrorists behind a series of attacks across the country. Mohamud said he expects the number of fatalities to rise in the coming days.
The attack occurred as the Somali president and leaders of the federal member states were meeting to examine ongoing offensive actions against the terrorist group.
The United Nations mission in Somalia UNSOM pledged to stand “resolutely with all Somalis against terrorism.”
“These attacks underline the urgency and critical importance of the ongoing military offensive to further degrade Al-Shabaab,” said AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), which replaced the previous AMISOM peacekeeping force.
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