UN condemns attack on Somali government compound

The United Nations envoy for Somalia has strongly condemned the suicide attack that took place on Wednesday at a government compound in the capital of the Horn of Africa nation. Augustine Mahiga, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, called on the insurgents to "cease immediately all attacks that continue to cause extraordinary suffering to the civilian population in complete disregard of the value of human life." The Special Representative urged the people of Mogadishu to "keep a high level of alertness" and promised that "such acts of terrorism will not derail the peace process." He also called on the TFG to provide assistance to the victims of terrorism and stressed the importance of strengthening the Somali national security forces. "The UN remains ready to continue its support to the TFG towards peace, stability and national reconciliation," he added. Last week the UN Security Council voiced its grave concern about the threat posed to Somalia and the international community by terrorist attacks by Somali armed opposition groups, in particular Al-Shabaab, and welcomed the commitment made at recent conference in London for renewed international action to address this threat.