World leaders condemn Somalia bombing

World leaders from the United States, Turkey, Britain and France on Sunday strongly condemned the weekend suicide bombing in Somalia, the worst attack in the country to date with over 300 deaths.

Saturday's blast occurred at a junction in Hodan, a bustling commercial district of the capital Mogadishu which has many shops, hotels and businesses. Hundreds of people had been in the area at the time of the blast.

TRT World's Caitlin McGee has more.

The United States condemned the bombing "in the strongest terms" in a statement released by the State Department.

Washington "will continue to stand with the Somali government, its people, and our international allies to combat terrorism and support their efforts to achieve peace, security, and prosperity that," the statement added.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "Turkey will continue to stand in solidarity with the government and people of Somalia against terrorism," in a message he sent to his Somalian counterpart Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.

Turkey is a leading donor and investor in Somalia.

In September, it inaugurated the largest foreign-run military training centre in Somalia, where local troops are due to take over the protection of a nation threatened by Al Shabab.

France's President Emmanuel Macron and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson took the social media to condemn the attacks.

France supports the African Union against terrorism and stands by Somalia, Macron tweeted.

Moussa Faki Mahamat, the chairman of the African Union Commission asked the government "to show renewed unity at this critical time and overcome divisions, to rebuild cohesion at all levels of the federal institutions."

It said the pan-African body, which has deployed a peacekeeping mission in the east African country, would "continue its support to the Somali government and people in their efforts to achieve sustainable peace and security."

Meanwhile, more than 2,000 people gathered in Mogadishu to protest the attacks that have been described as the most deadly since the Al Shabab insurgency began in 2007.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility, but Al Shabab has carried out dozens of suicide bombings in its bid to overthrow Somalia's internationally-backed government.

The fragile government and institutions, including its national army, are backed by the African Union's 22,000-strong AMISOM force and powers like the United States.

But the gradual withdrawal of the AMISOM troops is due to start in October 2018 and doubts persist over the readiness of Somali forces to confront the Al Qaeda-aligned Al Shabab.