The Manila Times

Militants storm hotel in Mogadishu, 4 dead

MOGADISHU: At least four people were killed in an ongoing attack by AlShabaab militants who laid siege to a popular hotel in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu overnight, a security agency official told Agence FrancePresse (AFP) on Monday.

Gunfire and explosions could still be heard more than 12 hours after the militants stormed the hotel near the presidential palace in a hail of bullets.

Mohamed Dahir, an official from the national security agency, told AFP the gunmen were holed up in a room at the Villa Rose surrounded by government forces.

“So far, we have confirmed the death of four people,” he said, adding that others had been rescued from the besieged venue. “Very soon the situation will return to normal.”

Government officials were among others injured, he added.

The Villa Rose is frequented by lawmakers and located in a secure central part of the capital just a few blocks from the office of Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

Al-Shabaab, a militant group affiliated with al-Qaeda that has been trying to overthrow Somalia’s central government for 15 years, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Police said the gunmen rushed into the hotel in Bondhere district at about 8 p.m. on Sunday (1 a.m. in Manila on Monday) and an operation was underway to “eliminate” them.

More than 12 hours later, witnesses near the scene described still hearing loud explosions and gunfire.

“I saw several military vehicles with special forces heading toward the hotel, and a few minutes later, there was heavy gunfire and explosions,” local witness Mahad Yare said.

In a statement on Sunday night, the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis), a 20,000-strong military force drawn from across the continent, praised the “swift” security response to the attack.

On its website, the Villa Rose describes the hotel as the “most secure lodging arrangement in Mogadishu” with metal detectors and a high perimeter wall.

Al-Shabaab has intensified attacks against civilian and military targets as Somalia’s recently elected government has pursued a policy of “all-out war” against the Islamists.

The security forces, backed by local militias, Atmis and United States air strikes, have driven Al-Shabaab from central parts of the country in recent months, but the offensive has drawn retribution.

On October 29, two cars packed with explosives blew up minutes apart in Mogadishu followed by gunfire, killing at least 121 people and injuring 333 others.

It was the deadliest attack in the fragile Horn of Africa nation in five years.

At least 21 people were killed in a siege on a Mogadishu hotel in August that lasted 30 hours before security forces were able to overpower the militants inside.

The United Nations said earlier this month that at least 613 civilians had been killed and 948 injured in violence this year in Somalia, mostly caused by improvised explosive devices attributed to Al-Shabaab.

The figures were the highest since 2017 and an over 30 percent increase from last year.

Americas And Emea

en-ph

2022-11-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-11-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://digitaledition.manilatimes.net/article/281990381538077

The Manila Times