Saudi Arabia takes in victims of Al-Shabaab attack in Somalia

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Victims of Al-Shabaab terror attacks in Somalia have been taken in by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has been integral in supporting the Horn of Africa nation, throughout such incidents which are now synonymous in the country.

Saudi Press Agency [SPA] reports that dozens of the victims have been taken in for specialized treatment as part of the country's philanthropy, and has also vowed to work closely with Somalia in the fight against Al-Shabaab, who control large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia.

Among those taken in were six people who were critically injured in the hotel bombing and arrived at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport following the directives of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz. They have since been admitted.

Representatives of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center [KSrelief], the Ministry of Health, and the Somali Ambassador to the Kingdom, Salim Maow Haji, welcomed them upon arriving in the Kingdom, Somalia's State TV reported.

Somalia's envoy to Saudi Arabia “expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for his prompt response, and for the professional and organized work of transporting the injured, noting that this embodies the depth of the relations between the two countries,” SPA reported.

Saudi Arabia also pledged to help the country deal with violent extremism, noting that it will help the national army to liberate several parts of the country. Saudi Arabia is one of the Gulf countries which has been working closely to help the country fight terrorism.

Somalia has significantly mobilized clans to fight the militants, with the team managing to liberate several villages. Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has also encouraged civilians to take arms against the militants, adding that he will not relent until the group is defeated.

GAROWE ONLINE