“Our security forces ended a siege on Lido Seafood restaurant and the nearby hotel Beach View, with many people. rescued and evacuated from the targeted buildings by a well-trained Somali counter-terrorism unit”, security official Mohamed Hassan said.
Advertisement
Global leaders and worldwide orgerinisations have Friday line up to condemn the attack on a beachfront hotel in Mogadishu, an attack that caused the death of at least 25 people, among them the attackers.
Abdirahman Halane was close to the restaurant when the gunmen attacked, and said some of those killed were hit by an explosion as they tried to flee.
“They randomly fired at the people sitting near the beach before entering the restaurant, ” an eyewitness told Associated Press.
An attack on a Kenyan university in April past year saw the group killed 148 people.
The fatalities included six attackers, police representative Ahmed Aloley said.
“Gunmen holed up in the restaurant as hundreds were trapped inside”.
“We heard a heavy explosion followed by gunfire”, said Mohamed Somow, an eyewitness who hid in a toilet in the restaurant when the attack started. The beach front restaurants are also very popular with government officials, aid workers and foreign visitors.
On a normal Friday, Liido Beach would be packed with hundreds of people surfing, swimming and strolling along the white sand.
“Lido beach in Mogadishu is more than just a relaxation spot, it’s a symbol of what peace in Somalia might look like”.
There are varying reports about how the attack started but it appears that as the first vehicle bomb went off, at around 19:30 local time (16:30 GMT) on Thursday, the gunmen stormed the area. “Our resolve can only be rejuvenated, to fight on until Somalia is freed of all elements of terror”.
Last week Al-Shabaab over-ran a Kenyan military camp, killing soldiers who are part of the AU mission trying to bring normality to the war-torn country.
The responsibility for the attack had been claimed by the extremist group Al Shabaab.
Advertisement
He describing it as a “barbaric and brutal attack against innocent civilians”.
