Siege of Somali Hotel ends after 20 are killed, 106 hostages were rescued by Somali security forces

The Somali police and army said, on Sunday, that they had ended their siege on a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu, adding that they had rescued 106 individuals. hostages Including women and children.

Somali security forces said they rescued 106 freed hostages who were trapped inside a hotel that was stormed by gunmen on Friday night.

The health ministry said 21 people died and 117 were injured in the 30-hour ordeal. Officials believe that efforts to restore the hotel are now over. The attackers used explosives to get into the Hyatt Hotel in Mogadishu before taking brutal control. The extremist Islamist group Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.

Police chief Abdi Hassan Mohamed Hejra briefed reporters on the rescued figures, which he said included women and children, but did not say how many were killed. The hotel was partially damaged following a violent battle between gunmen and security forces throughout Friday and Saturday nights, with films showing explosions and smoke rising from the building’s rooftop. An unidentified official told AFP: “The security forces have now ended the siege and the gunmen have been killed, and we have not received any fire from the building during the past hour.”

“It was really awful and terrifying to live next to gunfire and explosions. It was one of the most horrible things I saw in Mogadishu,” Abdussalam Guled, former deputy head of Somalia’s National Intelligence Agency, told the BBC.

Relatives of individuals believed to have been at the hotel at the time of the accident are now waiting to find out what happened to them. “My brother was inside the hotel the last time we heard about him, but his phone is now switched off and we don’t know what to expect,” businessman Mukhtar Adan was quoted by AFP as saying.

Two car bombs

A police officer told Reuters that two car bombs were used to enter the hotel on Friday evening and targeted the front barrier and gate. After the first incident, a website linked to Al-Shabab reported that a gang of gunmen was “carrying out indiscriminate shootings” after they “forcibly stormed” the hotel – which was described as a popular place where federal government employees congregate.

Security authorities struggled to reach the upper floors of the hotel for hours as the gunmen, who were holding an unknown number of people hostage, blew up the stairs needed to gain access. The head of Mogadishu’s casualty hospital told AFP that the center was treating at least 40 people injured in the hotel bombing and separate mortar shelling in another area of ​​the capital.

Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabab

Al-Shabab has joined al-Qaeda and has been involved in a long-running conflict with the federal government. The organization controls a large part of southern and central Somalia, but it managed to extend its influence to areas controlled by the government headquarters in Mogadishu. In recent weeks, fighters associated with the group have also attacked positions along the Somali-Ethiopian border, raising concerns about a possible new strategy for al-Shabab.

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Friday’s attack was the first of its kind in the capital since the election of new Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in May. Hotels and restaurants have been frequent targets, but Mogadishu experienced its deadliest incident in October 2017, when more than 500 people were killed when a truck packed with explosives was detonated at one of the city’s busiest intersections. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, although reporters say all indications point to al-Shabab’s involvement.