Agenzia Fides REPORT – "Thirty people were killed in the attack: six are members of Parliament and four are senior government officials. The other 20 victims are innocent civilians." This is the assessment following the attack on the Mona Hotel in Mogadishu, as announced by Deputy Prime Minister Abdirahman HajiAdab Ibbi.
This morning, August 24, gunmen wearing army uniforms attacked the Mona Hotel, which is located near the Presidential Palace and is often used by representatives of the Somali government and Parliament, because of its proximity to government buildings.
The assailants entered the hotel firing wildly, killing all those they encountered along the way. When government troops surrounded the building, at least two assailants blew themselves up with suicide vests. One member of the commando was arrested by government soldiers.
The likely perpetrators of the attack are members of Shabab, the Somali fundamentalist group, which is fighting against the transitional government, backed by the pan-African military force (AMISOM). In recent days the Shabab have launched a military offensive against government troops and AMISOM. Dozens of civilians have died in the fighting, being caught up in the crossfire and bombings.
The assault on the "Mona," located in an area theoretically strongly controlled by government troops and AMISOM, aims to continue weakening the prestige of the government administration, which has already been lost for the most part among the local population. The attack also recalls similar operations carried out in Afghanistan and Iraq by Islamic groups. It is an event that shows a growing integration of the Shabab with Islamic groups on an international level.
http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=27270&lan=eng
This morning, August 24, gunmen wearing army uniforms attacked the Mona Hotel, which is located near the Presidential Palace and is often used by representatives of the Somali government and Parliament, because of its proximity to government buildings.
The assailants entered the hotel firing wildly, killing all those they encountered along the way. When government troops surrounded the building, at least two assailants blew themselves up with suicide vests. One member of the commando was arrested by government soldiers.
The likely perpetrators of the attack are members of Shabab, the Somali fundamentalist group, which is fighting against the transitional government, backed by the pan-African military force (AMISOM). In recent days the Shabab have launched a military offensive against government troops and AMISOM. Dozens of civilians have died in the fighting, being caught up in the crossfire and bombings.
The assault on the "Mona," located in an area theoretically strongly controlled by government troops and AMISOM, aims to continue weakening the prestige of the government administration, which has already been lost for the most part among the local population. The attack also recalls similar operations carried out in Afghanistan and Iraq by Islamic groups. It is an event that shows a growing integration of the Shabab with Islamic groups on an international level.
http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=27270&lan=eng
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