On Saturday local time, two truck bombs exploded in Mogadishu on what is normally regular weekend in the Somali capital. The twin bombings killed 300 innocent people and injured some 500 more. While no one has claimed responsibility, the magnitude of the explosion has sent ripple effects across Somalia and East Africa. In Minnesota, home to the largest Somali population outside of Somalia, people have been comforting each other over the pain. The Saturday bombing is one of the deadliest in Mogadishu and by extension Somalia's history. It is also one of the deadliest in Eastern Africa's history having sadly exceed the innoncent lives lost in the twin bombings of U.S. embassies in Dar es Salam, Tanazania and Nairobi, Kenya 1998.
Close to a million Somali refugees are still in camps in Kenya and Ethiopia. Mogadishu has been trying to stablize and return to its pre war status as one of the unique and at one time prominent cities on the Indian Ocean. Like Yemen, Somalia could be a unique country for travelers and tourist with its history and culture. The city and wider country relies heavily on remittances from the large Somali Dispora that has allowed many Somalis to open businesses in Mogadishu and has led to the stability and peace in the semi autonomous region of Somaliland in the North region of Somalia.
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