Pope Francis on Wednesday expressed his sorrow over the worst bombing in Somalia’s history, a deadly truck attack that left at least 276 people dead in Mogadishu at the weekend.

“I pray for the conversion of the violent and send my encouragement to all those who, in the face of enormous difficulties, work for peace in this martyred country,” Francis said at his weekly audience in St Peter’s square.

No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which was widely seen as likely being the work of the Shabaab, an insurgent Islamist group aligned with Al-Qaeda.

The pope had earlier told delegates in an interfaith conference at the Vatican that “those who engage in acts of violence, or try to justify them in the name of religion, gravely offend God.”