At least 21 civilians killed: this is the still provisional assessment of the spectacular attack claimed this weekend by the Chebab fighters, a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda, against the Hayat hotel in Mogadishu. This operation, carried out on the evening of Friday August 19, also left dozens injured by firearms and explosives. To put an end to the siege of the establishment on the night of Saturday August 20 to Sunday August 21, the Somali security forces did not hesitate to bombard part of the latter. All the assailants were killed, say the authorities.
Rescuers were still looking for survivors among the rubble on Sunday, as well as possible explosives that may have been scattered by the attackers. According to a witness, three children from the same family, aged 4 to 7, survived by hiding in the hotel toilets. They were found in a state of shock by the security forces.
The anxious waiting of families
Police Commissioner Abdi Hassan Mohamed Hijar said 106 people had been rescued, out of an as yet unknown number of people trapped inside.
On Sunday August 21, dozens of people were feverishly awaiting news of their relatives who were staying at the hotel. “My brother was in the hotel the last time we heard from him, but his phone is off now and we don’t know what to expect”said Muktar Adan, a businessman.
The hotel targeted by this attack is a popular meeting place for government officials. “I managed to run to a nearby exit, away from the gunmen”, said Hussein Ali, present with colleagues in the establishment. But “those who preferred to hide inside the building, including one of my colleagues, died”he added.
The multiplication of attacks
It is the most important attack carried out by the shebabs in Mogadishu since the coming to power of the new Somali president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, last May, after months of political vacuum.
Although the shebabs have been driven out of the main cities of Somalia since 2011, including the capital, they remain established in vast rural areas. In recent months, their attacks have intensified. In May, US President Joe Biden decided to re-establish a military presence in Somalia, a US ally, to help fight them. The Somali president, however, considered that a military approach is insufficient to put an end to the insurrection of the shebabs, which began fifteen years ago.
In early August, Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre appointed a former al-Shabaab leader as minister of religious affairs. Muktar Robow, also known as Abu Mansour, publicly defected in August 2017 from the movement he helped found. A movement that continues to pose a threat to the security of this country in the Horn of Africa.