Preparations continuing for Erdogan’s visit to Somalia: Ambassador

Sevil Erkuş - sevil.erkus@hurriyet.com.tr ANKARA

DHA Photo

Preparations are continuing for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s scheduled visit to Somalia, despite the Jan. 22 suicide attack in Mogadishu, Turkish Ambassador to Mogadishu Olgan Bekar has said.

No causalities are reported from the Turkish delegation, but one Turkish official was slightly wounded in the explosion, Bekar told the Hürriyet Daily News.

The suicide car bomb exploded across from a Mogadishu hotel where the Turkish delegation was staying in the Somali capital, amid preparations for President Erdoğan’s visit at the weekend.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, the envoy said. 

Erdoğan is set to attend the official opening ceremony of Mogadishu Airport, which has been renovated by a Turkish company. 

The Turkish delegation is composed of more than 50 officials from the police and protocol department, and they have been in Mogadishu for 2-3 days, a Turkish official told the Daily News. A protocol official was slightly wounded due to breaking glass at the hotel, he added.

Erdoğan’s visit to Somalia is has not been cancelled according to the Turkish official, but Turkish officials strictly avoided to say that Erdoğan would go ahead with his original schedule, raising prospects for cancellation of the visit to Mogadishu.

Mogadishu is the frequent target of car bombs, and the city has taken heavy security measures ahead of Erdoğan’s visit.