Saskatoon families mourn victims of Somalia attack

Hundreds of Saskatoon residents are mourning those killed and injuredin their native Somalia.

The death toll has reached 300 from the truck bomb attack Sunday in the capital city of Mogadishu.

"There is so much loss," said Saskatoon Open Door Society executive director Ali Abukar.

Abukar called his mother in Mogadishu as soon as he heard the news. He was relieved to hear his family was OK, although one of their employees was injured while driving a delivery truck in the area.

"It is tragic. I mean, things have happened in the past that were attacks, but I think we have never seen or heard of something like this," Abukar said.

He saidthere are more than 100 Somali-Canadian families in Saskatoon, andthey are all praying for the victims.

He expects they will organize some type of event or fundraiser soon.

Don't send in Canadian military: Abukar

Abukar said there's a lotCanada can do to help, but sending in the military again is not one of them.

A previous Canadian military mission to Somalia in the early-1990s ended in failure and scandal.

Abukar said Canada can instead provide humanitarian assistance to those affected by the attack.

He said Canada can also help with longer-term solutions to the conflict and famine plaguing the East African nation.

"We would like also to see a bit more involvement in development and also peacebuilding," Abukar said.

Somalia has seen frequent attacks by terrorists and other groups, but this is the largest single attack in the country's history.