The establishment was destroyed by a bombardment aimed at eliminating the attackers who had entrenched there for thirty hours. The toll is not yet known, but at least thirteen civilians had been killed at the start of the attack by the jihadists Chabab.
Le Monde with AFP
Headquarters for around thirty hours of a Hôtel de Mogadishu by jihadists Chabab ended, Saturday August 20 evening.
“The security forces have now ended the seat and the armed men died, we did not have shots from the building during the past hour,” announced, around midnight, to the Agence France-Presse (AFP) A senior security official, under cover of anonymity.
He added that the government would address the press on Sunday morning on this bloody attack which made several civilian victims. According to an assessment announced on Saturday in the middle of the day, at least 13 civilians were killed at the start of the attack by these combatants affiliated with Al-Qaeda. The manager did not specify, at the end of the occupation of the Hayat hotel, the number of victims among civilians and among the attackers.
The establishment was destroyed by a bombing of the security forces aimed at eliminating the attackers who had entrenched themselves, but the manager stressed that he must now be rid of all the explosives who could have been placed there .
Many people were trapped when the assault started on Friday evening, and although official officials assured that dozens of them had been rescued, including children, the number of people remained inside is unknown.
“heavy losses”
According to a witness, Hayat Ali, three children from the same family, aged four to seven years, were found by the security forces, in shock, hidden in the hotel toilets.
“I managed to run to a nearby exit door, far from armed men,” said Hussein Ali, present with colleagues in the establishment. “The armed men started to shoot, I could hear the shots behind me, but thanks to God (…), we managed to escape.” But “those who preferred to hide inside the building, one of my colleagues, are dead, “he added.
This is the most important attack in Mogadishu since the new Somali president, Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud, took office in June, after months of political instability.
Islamist group linked to Al-Qaida, the Chabab has been engaged in an insurrection against the Somali Federal Government for fifteen years. They had claimed the responsibility of this attack in a brief press release on a website which is favorable to them. Chabab spokesperson Abdiaziz Abu-Musab said on their station on Saturday, Radio Andalus, which the group had “inflicted heavy losses” on security forces.
Rain of shells in a Another district of Mogadishu
The allies of Somalia, notably the United States, the United Kingdom and Turkey, as well as the UN, have firmly condemned this attack.
A rain of shells also fell on Saturday in another district of the capital, Hamar Jajab, located by the sea, who wounded, including children, Commissioner Mucawiye told AFP Muddey. These shots were not immediately claimed.
According to the director of the main hospital in Mogadishu, Dr. Mohamed Abdirahman Jama, at least 40 people were treated after being injured in the two weekend attacks.