A Somali security official announced yesterday that four people were killed in a security forces siege of the Villa Rose hotel in the capital Mogadishu that has been ongoing since al-Shabaab attacked it on Sunday evening. Somalia’s parliament announced the postponement of its session after an attack on a hotel frequented by government officials and lawmakers, located near the presidential palace. “The terrorist fighters are locked in a room in the building and the security forces are about to end the siege… So far, we have confirmed that four people have been killed,” security official Muhammad Daher said, without specifying their identities. .
The sounds of explosions and gunshots were still heard in the early morning hours around this hotel, which is usually visited by parliamentarians and high-ranking officials and is located a few streets from the office of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud. Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked paramilitary group that has been trying to overthrow Somalia’s central government for 15 years, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Villa Rose is described on its website as “the safest place to live in Mogadishu” with metal detectors and a high wall.
This new attack comes at a time when Somalia’s newly elected president decided in May to launch an “all out war” against al-Shabaab.
