Al-Shabab Siege on Mogadishu Mayor’s Office Is Ended by Somali Forces

More than five hours of Shabab’s siege of the Mogadishu mayor’s office and other local government buildings have been halted by Somali government forces.

According to the Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism, security forces killed six al-Shabab fighters responsible for the attack on Sunday.

The statement also said that there were four injuries and five civilian deaths.

The al-Shabab militants entered the compound on foot while posing as government soldiers, according to the Somali authorities.

An explosion signalled the beginning of the attack before the assailants stormed the structure.

Deputy Mayor Isse Gure reported that an explosion “struck the back gate facing Hamarweyne (area) at about noon.”

Except for Mayor Yusuf Hussein Jimale, all of the top local government officials were present when the incident took place, according to Gure. Jimale is presently travelling abroad.

Gure added that soldiers were vigilant and reduced casualties.

Gure claimed that staff members and authorities were saved by security troops. He verified that one of the five dead people was a special needs employee of the local government.

Al-Shabab claimed credit for the attack using the messaging service Telegram. Typically, the intricate operations carried out by Al-Shabab start with an explosion before suicide bombers storm the target. The term “deviants” used by the government to describe al-Shabab militants is “khawarij.”

The group made a statement in which it claimed the killing of 34 people, including officers, soldiers, and employees of government agencies. The assertion has not undergone independent verification.

eyewitness testimony

Abdiaziz Ahmed Barrow, a stringer for VOA Somali, stated, “I was in Hamarweyne when the explosion happened, not that far from where the explosion took place.”

People, according to him, were getting ready for midday prayers at the time.

He claimed, “We heard a great explosion, a tremendous one that shocked the population.” I observed people running away from the site, and ambulances arrived. Security personnel have arrived and have started firing.

According to Barrow, when the situation rapidly changed, people began to flee.

Some of the people he said were “my buddies” or “people I know” who were hurt in the incident. “I saw some folks fleeing with blood on them.”

A female suicide bomber who targeted the mayor’s office on July 24, 2019, fatally wounded the previous mayor, Abdirahman Omar Osman.

The most recent occurrence occurs as military operations by the Somali government to drive al-Shabab out of towns and communities continue in many areas. In a new multi-front offensive in the southern portion of the country, Jubaland state officials in Somalia said on Saturday that forces had liberated the town of Jana Cabdalle, 60 kilometres (37 miles) west of Kismayo.

In the recently taken town of Galcad in Galmudug state, al-Shabab stormed a military outpost belonging to the Somali government the day before. While the Somali government recognised that seven soldiers were killed, Al-Shabab claimed that 159 soldiers had died. One of them was Major Hassan Osman Mohamed, also known as Hassan Tuure, a commander in the American-trained Danab (lightning) forces.

30 al-Shabab fighters were reportedly killed on January 20 in a “collective self-defense strike” against al-Shabab in Galcad, according to the U.S. military. Al-Qaeda’s assault on Shabab’s forces against the forces of the Somali government in Galcad, according to the U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, prompted the operation.

Al-Barbaric Shabab’s attack on Sunday, according to the Somali government, is another piece of evidence that the militants must be driven out of the nation.

Contributors to this report include Mohamed Abdurahman and Asha Ibrahim Aden.