"Welcome to Mogadishu, you are the first Chinese journalists which I have met here," Maj. Barigye Ba-Hoku, spokesman for the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), told Xinhua correspondents on Thursday at the Aden Abdulle International Airport in the war-torn Somali capital.

The Xinhua correspondents arrived in Mogadishu three days after the government State Minister for Defense Yusuf Mohamed Siyad Indha Adde survived a suicide car bomb attack on Monday.

At least five people were killed and more than 14 others, including two of Adde's bodyguards, were wounded after two cars laden with explosives exploded as the minister's motorcade passed a hotel in the government-controlled area of Mogadishu.

On the way back to the African Union (AU) camps, tanks and armored vehicles were hidden in bushes along the streets. Armed soldiers carried out strict security checks at the entrance of the camps

"All the things can be controlled. Don't worry," Ba-Hoku said, adding that the AMISOM has intensified security checks since the car bombing in the camps last year which killed at least 17 people.

Ba-Hoku said that Somali insurgents have launched attacks on AU peacekeepers with bombs buried on streets in recent days, aiming at officials of the Somali transitional government and patrol vehicles of the AU peacekeeping forces.

The intensity of the blasts on Thursday afternoon could reach more than 10 in one minute, testifying the worrisome security situation in the war-ravaged city. Some explosion occurred no more than five km from the headquarters of the AMISOM, although their exact location could not be identified immediately.

Ba-Hoku seemed to have been accustomed to the blasts. "It's normal things, are you dare?" he asked Xinhua with a smile.

Receiving threatening calls from Somali insurgents have also been a daily chore of the AMISOM spokesman, as his phone number has been made public due to his duty as public information officer.

Ba-Hoku showed a message to Xinhua in which the rebels vowed to attack the AMISOM base in Mogadishu. "The number of such messages I got every day could be hundreds," said Ba-Hoku with a soft tone.

His phone has rung all the way from the airport to the AMISOM base, with almost twice per minute on the average. The phone calls have also been interrupted by message remindings.

"I have the most busy mobile(phone) in the world," Ba-Hoku told Xinhua. Facing threats, the spokesman did not forget to crack a joke. He often turned a deaf ear to the calls and threats.

The assaults against AU peacekeepers and Somali government officials have often been staged in Mogadishu in recent days.

Ba-Hoku said except leaving the threats alone, one important thing is to make comprehensive defense.

"All the things can be controlled is very important," said the spokesman.

Somalia has been plagued by civil strife since the overthrow of military strongman Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Islamist rebels run much of south and center of Somalia while the Somali government control small parts of the restive capital Mogadishu.

Go to Forum >>0 Comments