Tuesday October 17, 2017
By MUTHONI WAWERU
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Ahmed Mohamed, a member of the Eastleigh Business Community called on all Kenyans to participate in the donations to assist the more than 300 people injured in the attack, in which left at least 276 people were killed/COURTESY
NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 17 – Residents of Nairobi’s Eastleigh estate on Tuesday turned up in hundreds for a blood donation exercise in aid of victims of the weekend Mogadishu bomb attack.
Ahmed Mohamed, a member of the Eastleigh Business Community called on all Kenyans to participate in the donations to assist the more than 300 people injured in the attack, in which left at least 276 people were killed.
“We are happy with the overwhelming turnout for this exercise and we hope that it will continue until tomorrow. This is in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Mogadishu.”
One of the residents who donated blood during the exercise held in Eastleigh’s First Avenue said: “I have come to donate blood for those who were left injured by the deadly attack.”
Another said: “Just like Westgate attack, Garissa University attack we have come out in unity of this initiative and to see to it that the injured receive the much needed help.”
Other residents interviewed condemned the attack and called on the Somali government to speed up investigations and intensify security in the war-torn country.
At least 276 people were killed and 300 injured by the massive truck bomb that tore through a busy shopping district of Mogadishu, the government said Monday, making it the “deadliest attack ever” to hit war-torn Somalia.
There has been no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Shabaab, a militant group aligned with Al-Qaeda, has carried out dozens of suicide bombings in its bid to overthrow Somalia’s internationally-backed government.
Saturday’s blast was universally condemned, including by the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Turkey and the African Union.