The assault in the port city of Kismaayo was led by four men: a first who led a suicide attack, followed by the intrusion of three armed men into the hotel. Forty-seven people have also been injured.
Le Monde with AP and AFP
After Mogadiscio and the center of Somalia, it is the turn of the big port city of Kismaayo to be struck by the revival of violent actions carried out in recent months by the radical Islamists Chabab.
Sunday, October 23, it is a hotel in this city in the south of the country which was the target of an attack. “Nine people were killed and 47 others injured in the attack, including students who left a neighboring school at the time of the attack,” said Jubaland Minister of Jubaland Hussein Osman. “The security forces have ended the headquarters in a timely time,” he said, while the assault that lasted more than six hours, ended around 7 p.m. locals (6 p.m. in Paris)
According to Yusuf Hussein Osman, the attack began with a suicide bomber “which has exploded”. Three armed men would then have entered the hotel. Witnesses mentioned a car bomb at France-Presse (AFP). “A suicide bomber led a vehicle to the entrance to the hotel before armed men enter the building. Shots started inside,” said one of them, named Farhan Hassan.
A claimed attack
The Chabab claimed the attack, claiming to target a hotel where members of the Jubaland State were brought together. In July 2019, they had led a similar attack on local authorities in a town in the city, killing at least 26 people and 56 injured. The Islamist group, linked to Al-Qaida, has been fighting since 2007, the federal government supported by the international community. It was chased from the main cities – including the capital Mogadishu in 2011 – but remains solidly established in large rural areas, especially in the south of the country.
Capital of the Jubaland located 500 kilometers south of Mogadishu, Kismaayo was a bastion of the Chabab, which drew solid incomes from its port activity before the city was taken up in 2012 by local militias supported by Kenyan forces.
In recent months, the Chabab has redoubled activity in Somalia, poor and unstable country of the Horn of Africa, with in particular a spectacular assault, about thirty hours, at the end of August on a hotel in The capital MOGADISCIO.
“Total war” against the Chabab
After this attack, which left at least 21 people dead and 117 injured, President Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud promised a “total war” to eliminate the Chabab, and called on the population to “hold out” Controlled by Islamists who were going to be targeted by next offensives. The security forces and local clan militias have notably launched military operations in the center of the country, which, according to the authorities, have taken ground from the Islamist fighters.
The American army also leads air strikes. One of them killed Abdullahi Yare, one of the highest leaders and co -founder of the movement in early October in the south of the country.
A few hours after the announcement of his death by the Somali government, a triple bomb attack against a government building in the city of Beledweyne (Center) killed at least 30 people and injured 58 others.
In addition to the Chabab insurgency, Somalia is also threatened by an imminent famine, caused by the most serious drought observed for over 40 years. Through the country, 7.8 million people, almost half of the population, are affected by drought, of which 213,000 are in great danger of famine, according to the United Nations. Without urgent mobilization, the famine state could be declared before the end of the year.