Somalia can always rely on Italy's "friendship and firm support" in its battle against terrorism, president Sergio Mattarella said Monday in a message of condolence for the bomb attacks that killed over 270 in Mogadishu and injured hundreds more at the weekend.
"Italy learned with deep sadness of the news of the vile attack in central Mogadishu, causing countless victims including many children, "Mattarella said in the message to Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, president of Somalia - a former Italian colony.
"In these tragic circumstances, I would like to confirm that Somalia can always count on Italy's friendship and firm support in its fight against the blind violence of terrorism," Mattarella continued.
Saturday's atrocity would "strengthen the determination of the Somali people to consolidate the results of the reconciliation process to build a future based on peace and stability," he said.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the truck bombing that killed at least 276 people and a second deadly blast in Mogadishu the same day which killed several people in another district of the capital.
Mohamed, also known as Farmajo, was elected by MPs gathered under tight security in a hangar at the airport of the capital Mogadishu in February.
Since 2012, when a new internationally-backed government was installed, chaos-wracked Somalia has been inching towards stability, but the new authorities still face a challenge from Al-Qaeda-aligned Al-Shabab insurgents.
Created in 1960 from a former British protectorate and an Italian colony, Somalia collapsed into anarchy following the overthrow of the military regime of president Siad Barre in 1991.
