In Mogadishu, Somalia Somali police have announced that they have ended a more than 20-hour-long al-Shabab siege on the popular Villa Rays hotel. The hotel is positioned near the presidential palace, which is heavily guarded. During the siege, at least 14 people were killed with 8 being civilians. “This is the second deadly siege in [the] Somali capital in less than three months,” says voanews.com. 

The first siege was in late August and the attackers targeted the Hayat hotel, which lasted 30 hours and killed more than 20 people. The al-Shabab has increased their attacks ever since the now-President Hassan Sheikh was elected in May. They seem to be attacking based on his declaration of “a ‘total war’ against the [Islamist] militants.”, and most of their attacks have been targeting hotels that are frequently attended by government officials and foreigners.  

Two months later, the al-Shabab claimed that they were behind a twin-car explosion in Mogadishu which resulted in at least 100 people dead. They have continued to attack both central and southern Somalia.

The Villa Rays hotel was attacked by al-Shabab soldiers who initiated the blockade with a suicide bombing. According to the police spokesperson, the security forces killed five or six attackers as one blew himself up. The security forces were able to rescue sixty civilians, and there were no civilian injuries. 

The reason this attack is important to note is that “The Villa Rays hotel is frequented by Somali government senior officials, including ministers, lawmakers, and other security officials” according to voanews.com. “At least one minister, Mohamed Ahmed, is reported to have been injured while another, Environment Minister Adam Aw Hirsi, told reporters he had survived the attack.” according to bbc.com. 

President Mohamad has begun mobilizing the Somali Army to try and regain their villages and towns back from the al-Shabab who control large sections of Africa.