On 3 August 2008, a roadside bomb killed 21 women and wounded a further 46 people
A roadside bomb targeting civilian women cleaning a Mogadishu street killed 21 and wounded 46, illustrating the danger posed to non-combatants amid Somalia's ongoing conflict.
Key Facts
- Date
- 3 August 2008
- Deaths
- 21 people
- Wounded
- 46 people
- Location
- Maka Al Mukarama Road, Kilometer 4 district
- Primary victims
- Women cleaning rubbish from the street
- Source
- Medina Hospital director Dr. Dahir Dhere
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Southern Mogadishu's Kilometer 4 district was the site of ongoing urban violence during Somalia's protracted civil conflict. A roadside bomb had been planted along Maka Al Mukarama Road, a public thoroughfare in the city, where civilian activity regularly occurred.
On the morning of 3 August 2008, a roadside bomb detonated on Maka Al Mukarama Road in southern Mogadishu as a group of women had gathered to clean rubbish from the street. The explosion killed 21 women and wounded 46 additional people, the majority of them also Somali women engaged in the same civic activity.
Residents gathered at the scene around the victims. Medina Hospital director Dr. Dahir Dhere confirmed the casualty figures. The attack underscored the severe risk posed to civilian populations, particularly women engaged in everyday community activities, in Mogadishu's contested districts.