Radical Islamists continue to strike the Somali power despite the “total war” that it declared to them.
mo12345lemonde with AFP
An attack by the Chabab of a hotel in the secure center of Mogadishu, near the presidential palace, was underway Sunday November 27 in the evening, showing the ability of radical Islamists to continue to strike Somali power, which told him a “total war”.
“A group of Chabab fighters attacked a hotel in the Bondherere district this evening, the security forces are committed to eliminate them,” said national police spokesman Sadik Dudishe, in a statement. Many civilians and political leaders have already been rescued and evacuated from this establishment, the Villa Rose, he added.
“I was near the pink villa when two strong explosions shook the hotel. There were fed fire. The area was completed and I saw people fleeing,” said the agency France-Presse A witness, Aadan Hussein, from Mogadiscio.
Violent recent attacks
The Chabab, a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda which has been trying to overthrow the Somali central government for 15 years, claimed the attack. The Villa Rose hotel is a popular place for Somali deputies, located in the secure central area of Mogadishu, not far from the office of the country’s president, Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud. The strength of the African Union in Somalia (AMTIS) condemned the attack and “congratulated” on Twitter “Somali security forces for their rapid response to avoid new victims and material damage”.
This new attack comes when the recently elected Somali President in May has decided to hire for three months a “total war” against the Chabab. The Somali army, supported by local clans, by the atmis, and with the support of American air strikes, thus regained control of the province of Hiran and vast areas of the Middle-Shabelle, in the center of Country.
But the insurgents retaliated by a series of bloody attacks, stressing their ability to strike at the heart of Somali cities and military facilities. On October 29, two cars full of explosives exploded a few minutes apart in Mogadishu, killing 121 people and injuring 333 others. Or the deadliest attack for five years in this fragile country of the Horn of Africa. A triple bomb attack in Beledweyne (Center) also killed 30 people including local officials in early October, and at least 21 customers from a Hôtel de Mogadishu were killed during a 30 -hour headquarters in August.
According to the UN, at least 613 civilians have already been killed and 948 injured in violence this year in Somalia, mainly caused by improvised explosive devices (EEI) attributed to the Chabab. The highest figures since 2017, and up more than 30% compared to last year.