Hundreds of people took to the streets of Mogadishu on Thursday, in a rare show of defiance against al-Shabaab, the Somali jihadist group who have terrorised the country for nearly a decade.

The protests follow the carnage wrought on the Somali capital on the 28th of December when a car bomb exploded at a busy traffic intersection killing around 90 people and injuring dozens of others.

The terror group took the unprecedented step of apologising for the attack in the face of huge public anger.

Protests against al-Shabab are uncommon, as many fear that the crowds will be attacked. In the past, Somalis have protested silently instead by wearing red bandanas to symbolise the bloodshed.

But after nearly ten years of brutal Islamist insurgency and hundreds of deadly attacks, fear is turning to rage.

The demonstration followed a state television broadcast, which showed some of the group’s propaganda in which it explained why they carried out the attack in which mainly civilians died.

Many Somalis were so outraged by the warped justifications, that al-Shabaab took the decision to issue an apology for the bombing, earlier this week.

The group said they were targetting Turkish and foreign forces and that the numbers of dead Somalis had been highly exaggerated

The marches were organised by the city’s administration as a sign of resistance. Major roads were closed and hundreds took to the streets. Most of the protests were peaceful.