Abu Dhabi: A delegation comprising Somalia’s former president and prime minister arrived in Abu Dhabi to thank the UAE for its humanitarian assistance to the people of Somalia after the heinous terror attack that killed close to 400 people.
More than 30 people from the Somali community gathered at their embassy in the UAE capital on Monday to express their gratitude to the Emirates’ rulers for the great support in a very troubled situation.
On October 14, a terrorist bomb attack in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, killed close to 400 people and left more than 500 injured. it also rendered many homeless.
Speaking to media at Somalia Embassy in Abu Dhabi, on Monday, former President of Somalia Sharif Shaikh Ahmad humbly expressed his gratitude to the UAE’s rulers for extending great support in the aftermath of terror attack.
He thanked UAE President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan; His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, for standing by and helping the Somali people all the time, especially since civil war had broken out.
Ahmad said: “The UAE is the only country that has continuously been helping us. They didn’t delay for a day but stood in forefront to help us.”
“May Allah equip the UAE with all happiness and protect it from all evil forces and prevail peace and prosperity in the UAE,” Ahmad said.
“The UAE’s immediate response to airlift 100 of injured Somalis to receive treatment in Kenya at its cost has alleviated the human suffering and limited human losses due to that heinous attacks,” Abdul Kadir Sheikhey Al Hatimi, Somali Ambassador to the UAE, told Emirates News Agency (WAM) recently.
The UAE said that it would also rush urgent medical supplies and medicines to Somali hospitals to increase their capacities to provide health-care services to the increasing number of injured people.
The Emirates Red Crescent will take care of 300 orphans, who lost their families in the explosions, for six months, after which they will be included in the orphans’ sponsorship programme.
Former Prime Minister of Somalia Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke said, “One of the deadliest bombing shook the nationals of Mogadishu and the UAE first extended hand to treat more than 100 injured in the bombing and providing help and rehabilitation to them.
“It also announced to assist about 300 families financially who lost their loved ones,” he said, adding close to 400 people were killed in the attack and more than 500 were injured.
He urged all Arab countries to come together and help each other in such a testing time.
Al Hatimi said, “Today a group of 30 people from the Somali community in the UAE including [the] former President of Somalia, former prime minister of Somalia and former Ambassador of Somalia to the UAE gathered here in Abu Dhabi to thank the UAE.”
“The UAE has never left Somalia alone and has been providing their kind support to us. They will continue with their help,” Al Hatimi said.
The Emirates Red Crescent has been operating in the Horn of Africa country for the past 20 years offering all kinds of assistance to the people of Somalia. According to an ERC statistics, the value of assistance provided by the leading UAE relief agency to Somalia over the last 23 years stands at Dh277.6 million.
The UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia), under the umbrella of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, has implemented two projects to provide drinking water to more than 90,000 people in Somalia.
