Security forces in the Somalian capital yesterday fought for several hours before clearing a hotel of al-Shabaab militants who had stormed the building after two bombs ripped into it, police and witnesses said. At least 13 people were killed.
Al-Shabaab, which has frequently launched attacks in Mogadishu in its bid to topple the Western-backed government, said it was behind the assault on the Sahafi Hotel, where government officials and lawmakers stay.
“Mujahidin entered and took over Sahafi Hotel where enemies lived,” al-Shabaab military operations spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told reporters.
Photo: Reuters
The incident mirrored tactics used before by al-Shabaab, in which it detonates bombs to break through security at targets and then sends in fighters.
The government is battling to rebuild the Horn of Africa nation after more than two decades of conflict. Al-Shabaab ruled much of Somalia until 2011, when it was driven out of Mogadishu by African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) and Somalian troops. It remains a potent force.
Police officer Major Ahmed Nur told reporters that a car bomb rammed the entrance to the hotel and was followed by a second blast, which a security guard said was another vehicle bomb.
After a firefight lasting several hours, Nur said the hotel had been cleared of gunmen.
“The hotel has been entirely secured,” Nur said, putting the death toll so far at 13.
Police said those killed included the hotel’s owner, a lawmaker, a former senior military commander, a radio journalist and other civilians.
“We have also rescued many government officials by a ladder through the back wall,” said Major Ismail Nur, another police officer, after the assault that was launched at about dawn.
One police officer said fighters had fired on them from the rooftop.
AMISOM, leading a campaign with Somalian troops against al-Shabaab, also helped to clear the hotel.
An AMISOM spokesman had earlier said they were “mopping [up] floor by floor” in the four-story building.
The hotel is near a busy area in Mogadishu known as K-4. Plumes of smoke rose above the capital on the Indian Ocean coast.
“We got phone calls from staff hiding in hotel rooms saying that there are several injured people in the hotel,” Ismail Nur said as fighting still raged.
A witness saw wrecked cars and motorbikes in the area, as well as two dead civilians lying outside. At least three others were injured.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS