Tanzania: Netizens comment on bomb explosions at army base

At least 30 people have been killed in multiple bomb explosions after an accident early Thursday at Gongo la Mboto army base in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. At least 22 people died in 2009 following massive explosions at an ammunition depot at Mbagala army base in Dar es Salaam.

A piece of rocket still has blood on it after killing a woman. Photo courtesy of Robert Okanda.

A piece of rocket still has blood on it after killing a woman. Photo courtesy of Robert Okanda.

La Princessa calls for God's help:

We bombed ourself twice, accidentally..God help us

Out of Africa, a blogger from California, USA, lives just 15 kilometers from the army base:

Things that go bump in the night… rodents, ghosts, and… bombs? Probably the biggest breaking news on an international scale last night (that didn’t actually make the news), was the two hour onslaught of bombing that occurred in Dar es Salaam, TZ- only 15km from where we live.

At 9.30pm on February 16th, as Ross and I sat in our bed watching a horror film (of all things), the house began to shake, the doors rattled, and every window in the house pounded. As a Southern Californian, I immediately thought ‘Earthquake!’ Then the noise grew louder. A second blast. A third. Over and over until the sky glowed fluorescent orange.

Everyone on our property moved outdoors. The question every one wanted an answer to- is this an attack? Or is this an accidental bomb detonation from the nearby military camp?

Half the Tanzanians we live with believed it was the former. Recently, there have been riots at the local universities, and the opposition party, for the first time in 40yrs is gaining momentum in the country, causing political unrest (although this is largely conducted in whispers and unseen gestures). As we all know, civil war can happen overnight. Fact. But there hasn’t been a build up, and this seemed unlikely, especially due to the Muslim holiday.

“The “it was an accident” excuse is so yesterday and lame,” says Habari za Kibogoji:

I guess it is time to start asking questions. Who is reponsible here and who dropped the ball twice? Does someone in the ranks need to resign or atleast held accountable? The “it was an accident” excuse is so yesterday and lame. That’s how people avoid their responsibilities…..blame allah, jesus and god.

On twittersphere, users are discussing the incident using the hashtag #bombsindar.

Shurufu says:

@Tandile @barbarahassan @fettythebest please take lots of pictures and tweet everything you see. Remember the hashtag #bombsindar

At 4000 people have been sheltered at the National Stadium:

National stadium yesterday, bringing water, bananas, biscuits and t-shirts http://plixi.com/p/78342183 #bombsindar

People have sought shelter at the National Stadium. Photo courtesy of @Mbergsma

A nearby school was hit:

#bombsindar RT @DocFaustine: A direct bomb hit on a school http://yfrog.com/h3s67qnj

Donate blood:

If @mxcarter has donated some blood, (I think) we all have no excuse from donation! Let's go #Tanzania #BombsInDar

Chiume tweets:

RT @shurufu: The army explaining itself to the public. This is unprecedented, I think cc @chiume @JMakamba #bombsindar #tanzania

The accident is a result of poor leadership:

It seems like no one in the leadership is thinking long term or has a proper vision! It's too BAD!

The army asks people not to speculate:

Army: on what caused the explosions, let us not speculate on the reasons. Let's see what the investigations reveals #bombsindar

Are other ammunition depots safe?:

@shurufu Did any journalist ask the General how many more ammo depots we have in residential areas still at risk of blowing up?

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