Twenty people, most of them Ethiopians, were killed and at least 80 wounded in northeastern Somalia when twin explosions rocked a residential area late Tuesday, the information ministry said. "We are very sorry to announce that 20 civilians, most of them Ethiopian citizens, have been killed and 80 others wounded, some of them seriously when violent people targeted them with heavy explosions near the seaport in Bosasso," said Bile Mohamoud Qabowsade, a spokesman for the information ministry in the breakaway region of Puntland.
He added that the blasts, apparently caused by grenades, occurred within "two minutes" of each other, razing "an entire neighborhood where the Ethiopian citizens lived."
Bosasso in Somalia's self-declared autonomous region of Puntland has become a magnet for migrant workers and economic refugees, many of whom seek to cross the Gulf of Aden to Yemen.
Local staff put the number of wounded higher and described it as one of the worst attacks in Puntland.
"We received about 90 wounded people and so far some of them died in the hospital. It seems that the hospital had the busiest night and largest number of wounded people in a single incident," said Mohamed Yusuf from Bosasso main hospital.
A witness told AFP that residents were horrified by the carnage left from the explosions.
"We got tired as we collected the charred bodies and seriously injured peple through the night," said Osman Sheik Weheliye.
Puntland, which declared semi-autonomous status in 1998, has been relatively peaceful compared to Somalia, which has been wracked by violence since former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991.