EAJA official survives bomb attack in Somalia

The Secretary General of the East African Journalists Association (EAJA), Omar Faruk Osman, narrowly survived a suicide bomb attack in the Somali Capital Mogadishu.

Monday, December 17, 2012

The Secretary General of the East African Journalists Association (EAJA), Omar Faruk Osman, narrowly survived a suicide bomb attack in the Somali Capital Mogadishu.Reliable sources say the attack targeted a Burundian Delegation.Omar narrated that he was in his vehicle which was less then 50m to the sedan full of explosive devices that exploded."I left the mosque and was going back to my home. All the mirrors of my vehicle crashed and my car tyres burst as a result of explosion rapid combustion,” he said.Al-shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack and preliminary investigations state that they were targeting an AU convoy of Burundian contingent that was passing the road. The suicide bomber and two innocent by-passers died with 10 people wounded.Rwanda Journalist Association is an affiliate of EAJA.The former treasurer of EAJA, Gaspard Safari, said before the incident, Omar had called him telling him he had reached Somalia his mother country, coming from Nairobi-Kenya where he stays and was planning to return after a few days.He said Omar is employed by both EAJA and CNN and he is member of International Federation of journalists.