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Paris Goes Dark for Victims of Somalia Truck Bombings

The Eiffel Tower in Paris dimmed its lights on Monday night (watch below) to mourn the death of over 300 people in Somalia’s twin bomb explosions on Saturday, the country’s deadliest attack in over a decade. More than 500 people were wounded in the truck bombings in Mogadishu. Nobody has yet claimed responsibility although the […]

By SAPeople
17-10-17 10:00
in Eish!

The Eiffel Tower in Paris dimmed its lights on Monday night (watch below) to mourn the death of over 300 people in Somalia’s twin bomb explosions on Saturday, the country’s deadliest attack in over a decade.

More than 500 people were wounded in the truck bombings in Mogadishu. Nobody has yet claimed responsibility although the Somalia government suspects Al Shabaab, the Islamic extremist group which has links to al Qaeda.

Many have criticised the Western media for not reporting on the horrific attack, yet it appears the West have reported on it more than those on the African continent itself.

USA Today political correspondent Gregory Korte‏ tweeted a picture showing Mogadishu was featured prominently on the front page of newspapers like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today; and said: “If you honestly think there hasn’t been *any* mainstream media coverage of Somalia, I would invite you to subscribe to a newspaper.”

Some have pointed out: “The media is covering Somalia. If it’s not ending up in your social feeds, that’s more reflective of what your networks are interested in.”

And others have said if the media really weren’t covering it, there would be no awareness to even be criticising the media.

Paris went dark, and Toronto in Canada lit up its lights in the colour of the Somalia flag. Turkey sent 10 tonnes of medical supplies to Mogadishu and has brought 35 wounded Somalis to Ankara for treatment. “We will not let #Somalia down!” said Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu‏.

The South African government condemned the attack in Mogadishu and said it is particularly concerning that it was aimed indiscriminately at innocent civilians.

“On behalf of the government and the people of South Africa, President Jacob Zuma has sent a message of condolences to the Somali Government as well as the families of the deceased and wished all the injured speedy recoveries,” DIRCO (Department of International Relations and Cooperation) said in a statement.

DIRCO says there were no South African victims in the bombing.

On Twitter:

The Eiffel Tower’s Announcement:

Watch the Eiffel Tower dim its lights for Somalia: