Old Video Falsely Circulates as Mogadishu Explosion Amid Planned Visit by Chinese Minister

Social media users have shared footage showing an explosion followed by a blast and people fleeing the scene, claiming it depicts separatists bombing a road in Mogadishu where the Chinese minister of foreign affairs was expected to pass.

The users also claimed that Somalia imposed a 48-hour curfew nationwide to ensure the safety of the Chinese delegation.

Users further alleged that a bomb planted on the road exploded while the minister was in Somali airspace.

“Israel-backed Somaliland separatists just bombed a road in Mogadishu where the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs minister was passing, and Somalia imposed a 48-hour curfew to ensure the safety of the Chinese delegation’s convoy. A bomb planted on the road exploded while the minister was in Somali airspace,” a user wrote on X.

“Somalia imposed a 48-hour curfew in Mogadishu to ensure the safety of a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs minister,” another user wrote.