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2022-11-28 Africa Horn
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Militants attack hotel used by government officials in Mogadishu UPDATE: still fighting as of noon, at least 10 said dead UPDATE 2: It’s over. 15 dead incl 6 Al Shaboobies
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[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Somali security forces were attempting to flush out armed assailants from a hotel in the Somali capital, a police front man said Sunday, after the turban group al-Shabaab
...... Somalia's version of the Taliban
...Arabic for students ...
, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
grabbed credit for the attack. There has been no immediate word of any casualties.
Al-Shabaab said in a broadcast on its own radio frequency Sunday that said its fighters attacked the hotel Villa Rose, which has a restaurant popular with government and security officials.
Scores of people were rescued from the hotel and security forces have launched an operation to remove the assailants, police front man Sadik Dodishe told state media.
Abdi Hassan, a government worker who lives near the hotel, told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named that he believes several government officials were inside the hotel when the attack started. Some were seen jumping the perimeter wall to safety while others were rescued, he said.
The hotel isn't far from the presidential palace in central Mogadishu, where a blast was heard, followed by gunfire.
Such holy warrior attacks are common in Mogadishu and other parts of the Horn of Africa nation.
The latest attack comes amid a new, high-profile offensive by the Somali government against al-Shabaab, which still controls large parts of central and southern Somalia.
Extremist fighters loyal to the group have responded by killing prominent clan leaders in an apparent effort to dissuade support for the government offensive, and attacks on public places frequented by government officials and others persist.
Hotels and restaurants are frequently targeted, as are military bases for government troops and foreign peacekeepers.
Last month at least 120 people were killed in two boom-mobileings at a busy junction in Mogadishu. al-Shabaab, which doesn't usually claim responsibility when its assaults result in a high civilian corpse count, carried out that attack, the deadliest since a similar attack at the same spot killed more than 500 five years ago.
Al-Shabaab opposes Somalia's federal government, which is backed by African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
peacekeepers, and seeks to take power and enforce a strict version of Sharia law.
The United States has described al-Shabaab as one of al-Qaeda's deadliest organizations and targeted it with scores of Arclight airstrike
 ...KABOOM! ...
s in recent years. Hundreds of U.S. military personnel have returned to the country after former president Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and whatever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
withdrew them.
| Update from Garowe at 11:00 a.m ET, posted at 12:22 p.m. Somalia local time: |
Somalia: Parliament session cancelled over Al-Shabaab attack
The Senate and House of Representatives in Somalia have cancelled a joint session scheduled for today [Monday] following the Al-Shabaab raid in Villa Rosa Hotel, a popular eatery in Mogadishu which is frequented by government officials and other VIP guests.
The hotel under the Al-Shabaab attack is situated not far away from Villa Somalia, the official office and residence of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
Al-Shabaab militants are still holed up in the hotel with preliminary reports indicating that over 10 people have been killed and several others critically injured. The elite Danab Special Forces are on the scene and are trying to get hold of the militants who are firing from one of the floors.
Monday's session was meant to discuss the 2023 budget, which was approved by the cabinet last week after thorough scrutiny. The $967.7 million budget is set to expand the country's development activities besides helping with recurrent expenses including payment of salaries and operations.
Among those injured in the attack were Somalia's federal Minister of Security Mohamed Ahmed Doodishe, Abdullahi Bashir, a former official at the Ministry of Finance and the State Minister for environment Aw Hirsi, a common figure in the recently concluded climate change summit in Egypt.
The government has also announced plans to invest more in the security sector to enable the Somalia National Army to expand its territory by flushing out the Al-Shabaab militants. The government is also partnering with the international community to help in curbing sources of revenue for the group.
| 11:15 a.m. ET: I checked Twitter and discovered the following: |
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Posted by Fred 2022-11-28 00:26||
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File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)
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Posted by MikeKozlowski 2022-11-28 14:20||
2022-11-28 14:20||
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Posted by Skidmark 2022-11-28 23:45||
2022-11-28 23:45||
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