UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- World leaders lined up to condemn an al-Shabaab attack on Mogadishu, with the U.S. envoy to the United Nations saying the group has no dignity.
Al-Shabaab, al-Qaida's affiliate in Somalia, claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in Mogadishu that left more than 70 people dead in an assault that targeted Somali officials and soldiers from the African Union Mission in Somalia.
London was one of the first to come out with a statement condemning the "callous" attack by al-Shabaab.
Susan Rice, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations, said, in a statement, the attack showed al-Shabaab had "no regard for human dignity and no place in Somalia's future."
talian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said the attacks wouldn't derail Somalia's efforts to find peace.
Most of those killed in Tuesday's attacks were students. Shamsul Bari, an independent expert on human rights for the United Nations, said the tragedy for Somalia was the loss of some of the few people in the country with a decent education.
"These attacks, which targeted some of the country's very few university-level students, as well as the dedicated civil servants working to enhance Somali public institutions and social services under extremely difficult circumstances, are a direct blow to the fabric -- and future -- of the nation," he said.
Tuesday's attack was one of al-Shabaab's worst.
