Turkish national killed in Djibouti attack

ADDIS ABABA

A Turkish national was killed late May 24 in a suicide bombing targeting a French restaurant in central Djibouti.

Turkish Ambassador to Djibouti Hasan Yavuz told Anadolu Agency that the victim, Rüştü Gürbüz, was working for a Turkish company in the country. He said Gürbüz was identified at the hospital morgue, adding that the Turkish embassy was making the necessary arrangements to send the body back to Turkey.

Diplomats said there were reports of two explosions outside La Chaumiere cafe, and that two employees had been killed and around 10 others wounded, many of them foreigners. Sources said police were investigating reports that a grenade blast was followed by an attack by a suicide bomber.

Djibouti is home to the United States’ biggest base in Africa, which is used for anti-terror operations in Yemen, Somalia as well as for other operations across Africa. France also maintains a military base in Djibouti. Djibouti is also a key contributor of troops to the African Union force fighting al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militants in Somalia.