Relatives of those missing in the attack on a hotel in Mogadishu are waiting to hear from their relatives after the extremist Islamist movement Al-Shabaab laid siege to it for 30 hours in an operation that resulted in at least 13 civilians residents died and dozens were injured.
The attack by the al-Qaeda-linked group, using weapons and bombs, began on Friday evening and lasted for a day, after which many people were detained at the famous Hayat hotel.
The hotel area was calm yesterday morning, with roads closed due to a heavy presence of security forces, and emergency personnel and explosives disposal specialists attempted to clear the building and remove rubble.
The hotel building was badly damaged during a firefight between Somali forces and militants, causing parts of it to collapse and causing many people to worry about their relatives who were inside when the attack began.
This is the biggest attack on Mogadishu since the election of new Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in May. The hotel was a favorite meeting place for government officials, and when the militants stormed it, dozens of people were inside.
Officials had previously announced that dozens of people had been rescued, including three children hiding in the bathroom, but it is not known how many were still inside when the siege ended around midnight.
Police Commissioner Abdul-Hassan Muhammad Hajjar said yesterday that security forces rescued “106 people, including women and children” during the siege, which ended around midnight.
He added: “The casualties were mostly affected in the first hours of the attack,” without providing new figures for the dead and injured, and indicated that the health minister would speak to reporters later today.
Meanwhile, yesterday morning, dozens of people gathered along the road leading to the hotel, waiting for news from their families and friends, while the security forces guarded the area and did not let anyone through.
Businessman Mukhtar Aden, whose brother was at the hotel when the attack began, said he was waiting for permission to enter the hotel and look for his brother.
Somalia’s allies, including the United States, Britain and Turkey, as well as the United Nations, strongly condemned the attack, as did Atmis, by African Union forces tasked with helping Somali forces assume primary security responsibility by the end of 2024.
And Abdulaziz Abu Musab, a spokesman for Al-Shabaab, announced earlier on Saturday on Andalusian Movement Movement radio that his forces had “inflicted heavy casualties” on the security forces.
