MOGADISHU, Somalia (CAP) - The al Qaeda-linked splinter group Shah-Shkabab has taken responsibility for an unauthorized pig roast in the Alifuuto Nature Reserve just outside of the capital city of Mogadishu that sickened more than 30 people, including six parliament members. Officials fear it may lead to a widespread outbreak of Trichinosis.
"The meat, it was still pink when they said it was cooked and ready to eat," said Somalia Transitional Federal Government (TFG) spokesperson Sharif Abdistahn. "In fact, all of the food there just weren't no good. I mean, the macaroni was soggy, the peas were mush, and the chicken, it taste like the wood."
According to the militant group's confession, members of Shah-Shkabab's "special chefs" force arranged the unsanctioned outing, telling local civilians and government officials that there was "a large spread" of food at the nearby park - food they now admit they never intended to fully cook. Attendees say they were led to believe the group wasn't going to hurt anybody.
"They told us it was a party of some kind and I had hoped that I would find myself a good time," said one businessman who came from a nearby office building. "Man, I just wanted to have some fun. And now that I am sick, the best is yet to come."
The Somali government has issued a warning to residents to avoid any food whose origins they cannot explicitly identify and even went so far as to recommend only eating pre-packaged foods "such as pork rinds, if you must eat of the pig." Officials said trying to warn residents while avoiding secretive Shah-Shkabab operatives is tricky.
"In the city of Mogadishu it's the pity because we just can't hide," said Council of Ministers spokesperson Rageh Gensta Musheen. "Many buildings, they have of the tinted windows, but that don't mean nothing because they know who's inside."
World governments have been fairly unified in their response to the situation, calling Shah-Shkabab's tactics "cowardly," with many expressing concern that the Somali people may never feel safe attending another cookout again. Some say the longer scenarios like this go unchecked, the more power is bestowed upon Shah-Shkabab and that ultimately it's up to the Somali people to fight that power.
"We as outsiders, we're not the same because we don't know the game," said former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopa Kikaminda Shinn. "What the Somalis need is awareness; they can't get careless. They must make everybody see in order to fight the powers that be."
Shinn says a weak transitional government is partly to blame for a lack of oversight that allows Shah-Shkabab forces to target younger Somalis who are typically poor, unemployed, and only too willing to jump at the offer of free food. He says while a burger that appears cooked on the outside may be tempting, the government must show the results of eating raw or undercooked meat and tell citizens: the choice is yours.
"Shah-Shkabab is coming from the back, the middle and the front, offering up a good time and giving young Somalis what they want," said Shinn. "TFG must tell its people, you can get with this or you can get with that, and then convince them to get with this because getting sick is not where it's at."
For their part, Shah-Shkabab vows to continue to skewer the Somali people with illegitimate fire pits, clam bakes and wienie roasts as part of a new offensive. The World Health Organization has already issued a nitrate warning for the area and is planning to distribute pamphlets reminding people of the dangers of kissing the chef.
- CAP News Staff