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Several dead after militants storm Mogadishu hotel Several dead after militants attack Mogadishu hotel
(35 minutes later)
Islamist militants have rammed a car bomb into the gate of a hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and stormed inside, killing at least 13 people. Islamic militants in Somalia have killed at least 13 people in an attack on a hotel in the country’s capital, Mogadishu.
Gunfire rang out as fighters entered the Dayah hotel, which is popular with politicians. A second blast shook the area shortly afterwards, injuring several people. Police officials said the attackers rammed a car bomb into the gates of the Dayah hotel shortly after 8am on Wednesday before storming inside.
Col Abdiqadir Hussein, a police officer, said security forces later managed to secure the building. “We have rescued the people and concluded the operation at Dayah hotel. The security forces are now inside the hotel and we shall give further details of casualties later,” he said. A series of attacks have underlined the resilience of the al-Shabaab extremist movement, despite a decade-long effort to eradicate the group in the anarchic eastern African state.
Another police officer, Maj Mohamed Ahmed, said a dozen people had been wounded, in addition to the 13 killed, who included members of the security forces and civilians. “The death toll may rise,” he added. The group has repeatedly attacked high-profile targets in Mogadishu and elsewhere in an attempt to derail ongoing presidential polls.
Duniye Mohamed, a doctor at Madina hospital where some casualties were taken, said the injured included people with very serious wounds. Maj Mohamed Ahmed, a police officer, told Reuters news agency the death toll from Wednesday’s attack could rise.
The Islamist group al-Shabaab, which until 2011 controlled Mogadishu and much of Somalia, has claimed responsibility for the attack. Somalia’s Andalus radio, which is linked to al-Shabaab, reported that “well-armed mujahideen [fighters] attacked the hotel, and now they are fighting inside the hotel”.
“Well-armed mujahideen [fighters] attacked the hotel, and now they are fighting inside the hotel,” reported Somalia’s Andalus radio, which is linked to al-Shabaab. However, security experts in Mogadishu said that police, security guards and soldiers had prevented the militants from penetrating the hotel building itself, though a fierce firefight took place outside.
The insurgents often launch bomb and gun attacks in the capital, saying they want to topple the western-backed government and impose their strict interpretation of Islam on the nation. Al-Shabaab is affiliated to al-Qaida. Though it has suffered significant casualties and lost several key leaders, particularly in strikes from US drones, the movement has also notched up some significant victories.
In the past two years, a campaign by African Union troops and Somali forces has driven the group out of key urban strongholds, but it remains active from bases in rural areas. A base manned by Kenyan soldiers who were part of Amisom, the troubled stabilisation effort mounted in Somalia by regional powers, was overrun by al-Shabaab attackers last year and up to 180 soldiers were reportedly killed.
The Horn of Africa country swore in nearly 300 members of its parliament last month. The lawmakers will also pick the president, although that vote has repeatedly been postponed. A more ambitious attempt by the militant group to bring down a passenger jet on takeoff from Mogadishu airport failed last year.
Though al-Shabaab has a limited presence in urban centres, it retains significant control over some rural areas.
Last year leaders bloodily defeated a faction within the movement that wanted to break its affiliation with al-Qaida in favour of the Islamic State.
The new US president, Donald Trump, and his team have yet to signal any firm direction on policy in Africa, but analysts believe they will prioritise security issues, particularly the fight against al-Shabaab, al-Qaida and Isis affiliates such as Boko Haram in Nigeria. In recent years the US has significantly increased its military and counter-terrorism presence on the continent.
The elections for a new president and national assembly in Somalia were due to have been completed last year. The poll has been billed by international backers, including the US and the UK, as the country’s first truly democratic election for decades.
However, the process has been tarnished by delays, violence and allegations of endemic corruption.
The continuing violence and instability has impacted food supplies and aid agencies have warned Somalia risks slipping back into famine, as worsening drought has left millions without food, water or healthcare.
Five million people, almost half the population, do not have enough to eat, the United Nations said earlier this month.
Famine last struck pockets of Somalia in 2011, killing 260,000 people. It was caused by drought, conflict and a ban on food aid in territory held by al-Shabaab.
“The humanitarian situation remains grim for millions of Somalis,” Peter de Clercq, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, said.
“We are faced with a slight but steady increase in the number of people in need and, most recently, with a significant risk of further deterioration to famine.”
Both of Somalia’s 2016 rainy seasons were below average and the April to June 2017 rains are predicted to be poor.