A red bandana has become the new symbol of protest in Mogadishu as anger over the city’s most destructive bomb attack is boiling over on to the streets.
Men and women in the city, security officers, even government officials – all are wearing a piece of red cloth around their foreheads to show unity and solidarity for the hundreds of people killed and injured in Saturday’s massive truck bombing.
The BBC reports that the crowd chanted anti-al-Shabab slogans as they waited for the mayor of Mogadishu, the prime minister and the president to arrive.
Thousands came. It was something never seen before in the aftermath of a bomb attack.
There have been small protests in the past but people have been afraid of being targeted by the Islamist group.
This demonstration, and the rioting in the streets at the scene of Saturday’s blast, betrayed a real change of atmosphere in Mogadishu – from fear to anger.
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