(Mogadishu) At least eight civilians were killed in the headquarters of the hotel attacked Sunday evening by Al-Shabaab jihadists in the Somali capital Mogadishu, the police spokesman announced on Monday, saying that the operation of the security forces was “finished”.
“The search operation at the Villa Rose hotel is over,” police spokesman Sadik Dudishe told reporters.
The Shebab “killed 8 civilians who were in the hotel and the security forces managed to rescue about 60 of them, and none were injured”, continued Mr. Dudishe, adding that a member of the security forces had also been killed.
The Somali police spokesman said the attack was carried out for almost 21 hours by six people and “five were shot and one blew himself up”.
Sporadic gunfire and explosions were heard Monday morning around the Villa Rose hotel, which is popular with senior officials and parliamentarians and located a few blocks from the offices of President Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud.
All roads leading to the neighborhood had been blocked by security forces, AFP correspondents noted.
Witnesses had described two strong explosions Sunday evening, marking the beginning of the attack by the shebab of this hotel located in the district of Bondhere and enjoying in principle serious security measures.
On its website, the Villa Rose is described as “the safest accommodation in Mogadishu”, with metal detectors and a high perimeter wall.
By Sunday evening, many civilians and politicians had been rescued and evacuated from the area.
total war
Shebab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group that has been trying to overthrow Somalia’s central government for 15 years, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The African Union force in Somalia (Atmis) had condemned the attack and “congratulated” on Twitter “the Somali security forces for their rapid response to avoid further casualties and material damage”.
This new attack comes as the Somali president, elected in May, has decided to start a “total war” against the Shebab for three months.
The Somali army, supported by local clans, by the Atmis, and with the support of American air strikes, have thus regained control of the province of Hiran and large areas of Middle Shabelle, in the center of the country. .
But the insurgents retaliated with a series of bloody attacks, underscoring their ability to strike at the heart of Somali cities and military installations.
On October 29, two cars packed with explosives exploded within minutes of each other in Mogadishu, killing 121 people and injuring 333 others. The deadliest attack in five years in this fragile country in 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 guests of a hotel in Mogadishu were killed during a 30-hour siege in August.
This siege had raised questions about how Islamist militants managed to reach the closely guarded heart of Mogadishu’s administrative district undetected.
Armed checkpoints block roads leading to the area, which also houses a detention center for terrorist suspects overseen by the National Intelligence and Security Agency.
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 (IEDs) attributed to Al-Shabaab. The highest numbers since 2017, up more than 30% from 2021.