BREAKING NEWS: Explosion and dead in Mogadishu: A loud explosion followed by heavy gunfire can be heard near the Presidential palace in #Mogadishu. #Somalia
5 police Dead, tens wounded, in #Mogadishu hotel in front of the presidential palace, the hotel is hosting the Turkish president staff. The Villa Somalia is the official residential palace and principal workplace of the President of Somalia.
Despite the deadly attack, Turkish president Erdoğan will still pay a visit to Somali capital tomorrow. His staff were there early preparing for the visit. Turkey has been helping Somalia’s government rebuild schools, hospitals and roads. Turkish companies are also refurbishing Mogadishu’s port and airport.
“The Turkish delegates are safe inside the hotel”, police captain Farah Nur told Reuters news agency.
The attack is most likely by Al-Shebab rebels who are Al-Qaeda affiliated. The hotel is commonly used to host visiting dignitaries.
The Jihadist militant group Al-Shabaab was founded between 2004 and 2006 in Somalia during the civil war which lasted almost almost 15 years. Their name means “the youth.” The group is fighting for a theocracy in the Horn of Africa. Their radical Islamist ideology knows no national borders and they have carried out attacks across east Africa.
Al-Shabaab controls large parts of central and southern Somalia, and have turned to other Islamist groups like Al-Qaeda for support in training fighters. They also have links with the Islamists of Boko Haram. They were responsible for the attack in the Kenyan capital Nairobi in September 2013, where more than 60 people were killed in an armed attack on a shopping centre.
More to follow……
Information provided to Security News Desk by Global Risk Awareness
