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Twin explosions kill 20 Ethiopians in Somalia

"We are very sorry to announce that 20 civilians, most of them Ethiopian citizens, have been killed and 80 others wounded, some of them seriously when violent people targeted them with heavy explosions near the seaport in Bosasso."

Bile Mohamoud Qabowsade, a spokesman for the information ministry of Puntland

Twenty people, most of them Ethiopians, were killed and at least 80 wounded in northeastern Somalia when twin explosions rocked a residential area late on Tuesday, the information ministry said.

"We are very sorry to announce that 20 civilians, most of them Ethiopian citizens, have been killed and 80 others wounded, some of them seriously when violent people targeted them with heavy explosions near the seaport in Bosasso," said Bile Mohamoud Qabowsade, a spokesman for the information ministry in the breakaway region of Puntland.

He said the blasts, apparently caused by grenades, occurred within "two minutes" of each other, razing "an entire neighborhood where the Ethiopian citizens lived."

Bosasso is located in Somalia's self-declared autonomous region of Puntland has become a magnet for migrant workers and economic refugees, many of whom seek to cross the Gulf of Aden to Yemen.

Local staff put the number of wounded higher, saying it was one of the worst attacks in Puntland.

"We received about 90 wounded people and so far some of them died in the hospital. It seems that the hospital had the busiest night and largest number of wounded people in a single incident," said Mohamed Yusuf from Bosasso main hospital.

A witness said that residents were horrified by the carnage left from the explosions.

"We got tired as we collected the charred bodies and seriously injured people through the night," Osman Sheik Weheliye said.

Puntland, which declared semi-autonomy in 1998, has been relatively peaceful compared to Somalia, which has been wracked by violence since former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991.

Ethiopian troops are currently in Somalia, propping up the weak interim government that has been fighting the remnants of an Islamist militia that briefly controlled parts of the country in 2006.
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