MOGADISHU , Somalia ( CNN ) -- A roadside bombing in Somalia 's capital killed 21 women who were cleaning rubbish from a southern Mogadishu street on Sunday morning , a hospital official said . Mogadishu residents gather around victims of the bomb attack along the city 's Maka Al Mukarama Road . The bomb blast wounded another 46 people , most of them Somali women who had gathered to clean Maka Al Mukarama Road in southern Mogadishu 's Kilometer 4 district , according to Medina Hospital director Dr. Dahir Dhere . `` It suddenly turned the area into a carnage , scattering body parts of the street cleaners into a large area , '' said witness Asha Ise Gedi . `` There were pools of blood everywhere . I have never seen such mass killing . '' `` They were innocent poor mothers or sisters , '' Gedi said . `` Why did they deserve this ? '' It is unclear who is behind the attack . Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed Omar Habeb Mohamed Dhere , who was recently fired by the country 's prime minister , blamed the Islamic Courts Union for waging the attack . But the head of the Islamist insurgent group , Abid Rahim Ise Adow , denied any involvement and blamed Somalia 's government for orchestrating the attack . The victims were participating in a program that allows Somali women to work as street cleaners in exchange for food . The United Nations ' World Food Program organized the program , which began last year and is administered by Mogadishu 's regional authority . Mogadishu has been the site of violence in recent months between Ethiopian troops and Islamist fighters . Somalia 's current transitional government is trying to maintain control of the capital , with the help of the better-equipped Ethiopian forces . On Saturday , two-thirds of the Somali government ministers announced their resignations , blaming Prime Minister Nur Hassan Nur Ade 's `` dictatorship , '' which they said included his firing of Mogadishu 's mayor . Nur Ade said he suspects the mass resignations were aimed at weakening implementation of the peace agreement between Somalia 's transitional government and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia . He said he had no plans to resign . The peace agreement , signed June 9 in Djibouti , calls for a cease-fire between Somalia 's U.N.-backed transitional government and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia , an opposition group that includes members of the Islamist Court Union which overthrew the government in 2006 . The ICU was ousted from power later that year by Ethiopian forces , with the support of Somalia 's transitional government . If followed , the peace deal would pave the way for a withdrawal of Ethiopian troops -- a major sticking point for Islamist fighters who oppose their presence . The agreement calls on the alliance to dissociate itself from armed groups still fighting the government and for all sides to allow `` unhindered humanitarian access and assistance '' to all Somalis . A joint committee led by U.N. officials will monitor the agreement 's implementation . Ethiopian forces became embroiled in an Islamist insurgency after the Ethiopian forces invaded Somalia in December 2006 to overthrow the ICU leaders and reinstall the transitional government . As guerrilla attacks mounted , efforts to replace the Ethiopians with an African Union-led peacekeeping mission faltered . Ethiopia 's invasion had the blessing of Somalia 's government and the United States , which accused the ICU of harboring fugitives from the al Qaeda terrorist movement . The conflict displaced hundreds of thousands of Somalis , further worsening a humanitarian crisis that dates back to the collapse of the country 's last government in 1991 . The situation has been exacerbated by drought , continual armed conflicts in central and southern Somalia , and high inflation on food and fuel prices . CNN 's Alan Duke and journalists Mohamed Amin Adow and Abdi Nasir Mohamed contributed to this report .
NEW : Mayor blames Islamist fighters for blast ; Islamist fighters blame government . The mayor of the capital city of Damascus blamed "terrorists" and said that a car bomb had exploded in front of his office on Monday. Women part of U.N. program in which they cleaned streets for food . Mogadishu the site of violence between Ethiopian troops and Islamist fighters . 11 ministers resign Saturday , prime minister has refused to step down .