Bombings in Uganda Raise New Worries About Group in Somalia

16 July 2010

The burial of Alice Kyalimpa, one of over 70 people killed Sunday in a bombing in Kampala. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility.

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

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Ugandans buried their dead this week after bombings that killed more than seventy people in Kampala. The victims, including an American, were watching the World Cup final on television Sunday at two social places in the capital.

The group al-Shabab says it organized the attacks because Uganda supplies troops to support the temporary government in Somalia. Al-Shabab is tied to al-Qaida and aims to make Somalia into an Islamic state. It controls large parts of Mogadishu and the south. Al-Shabab means "The Youth" in Arabic.

The Kampala bombings were its first attacks outside Somalia -- and its leader called them "just the beginning."

On Thursday several Mogadishu radio stations broadcast a message from Ahmed Abdi Godane, also known as Abu Zubayr. He said attacks will continue as revenge for the deaths of Somalis killed by African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu. Human rights groups have condemned all sides in the Somali capital for causing civilian deaths.

Officials say the African Union will hold its big meeting in Kampala this coming week as planned. Somalia is expected to be a major issue.