Attacks Threaten Somalia's Road Toward Stability

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On Saturday, Somalia officially entered a state of mourning, in honor of the victims of this weekend’s truck bombings in Mogadishu. As rescuers and volunteers dig through debris in search of remains, funerals have begun, and with hundreds injured and dozens still unaccounted for, the government says they expect the death toll to rise past 300. 

So far, no one has taken credit for the deadly attack, but Somalia’s government is blaming al-Shabaab — the African Islamic extremist group that has been linked with al-Qaeda. In 2013, the group was blamed for an attack at a mall in Nairobi that killed 67 people, and back in 2015, al- Shabaab targeted a series of hotels in Mogadishu, killing at least 15 people.  

The attacks over the weekend are undermining stability in Somalia, a nation that was already battling famine and drought while also trying to overcome a decade of violence by the Islamist group al-Shabaab.  

The country’s new president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, has vowed to put an end to the group and was setting his sights on better security, development, and recovery.  This latest attack raises questions about Somalia’s ability to put the country on a path away from the cycle of conflict.  

For analysis of the attack and the government's response, The Takeaway turns to Kevin Sieff, African bureau chief for The Washington Post based in Nairobi, and and Peter Pham, vice president of the Atlantic Council and co-author of "Somalia: Fixing Africa’s Most Failed State."  He is also author of the study, "State Collapse, Insurgency, and Counterinsurgency: Lessons from Somalia," from the U.S. Army Strategic Studies Institute.

This segment is hosted by Todd Zwillich.