Somalia has only had a limited central government since 1991 and is trying to reconstruct itself with the help of the United Nations.
Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgents recurrently wage attacks across the country.
They were driven out of Mogadishu by government forces backed by 20,000 African Union peacekeepers in 2011.
However, the group still controls swathes of territory outside the cities, from where they launch attacks against government targets, as well as occasionally crossing the border to carry out raids in Kenya.
They are also trying to unseat the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu. Somali politicians are currently in talks trying to forge a way forward on how to hold a national indirect election, which was supposed to be held on the 8th of February.
It is no surprise that the notorious insurgents will take advantage of the on going dispute to further destabilize the country.
At least three people were killed this weekend after a suicide car bomb went off near a security checkpoint close to the presidential palace in the capital Mogadishu a popular area for such attacks.
At least seven others have been wounded and the suicide bomber also died.
“A huge blast has occurred and we are now preparing to help the wounded,” said Dr Abdi Baafor of the Medina hospital.
“So far, we have treated some but there are others who are now on their way to the hospital.”
Earlier this year 5 people were killed in a similar attack, amongst which retired Army General Mohamed Nur Galal, a former Defense Minister known by many in Somalia as a war hero, died.
3 militants were killed as security forces arrived on the scene, with a fourth dying in the initial detonation.
The country aimed to hold a direct election, rather than an indirect one where elders pick lawmakers who select a president, but delays in preparations and these daily attacks by al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgents continue to be a thorn in the flesh.
