Somalia: At least 32 dead in Shebab attack in Mogadishu

At least 32 people were killed and many others injured, police said, in a suicide bombing by the extremist group Al-Shabaab followed by gunfire on Friday night on a popular beach in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

“More than 32 civilians were killed in the attack, and about 63 others were injured, some seriously,” police spokesman Abdifatah Adan Hassan told reporters on Saturday, confirming one of the deadliest attacks in recent months.

Police and witnesses told AFP on Saturday that a suicide bomber blew himself up the night before on Lido Beach, which is popular with businessmen and civil servants. The upscale area, with its chic hotels and restaurants, has been the target of attacks in the past.

Attackers then opened fire on the beach, the source said.

“The ruthless terrorists killed civilians at random,” police officer Mohamed Omar told AFP on Saturday, adding that Somali security forces killed five members of the radical Islamist group Al-Shabaab, which is linked to Al Qaeda.

The attackers were referred to as “Kharijites”, a term used by Somali authorities to refer to members of the group.

Hawo Mohamed, who lives near the scene of the attack, said at least seven of his acquaintances were killed in the attack.

“There is blood and body parts scattered around the scene,” he told AFP.

Hospitals have launched appeals for blood donations to treat the many injured, according to local media.

Abdulkhaliq Osman, an official at Kalkaal Hospital, confirmed the influx of injured people into his facility.

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“Eleven of them were taken to the operating theatre with serious injuries, and those with minor injuries were sent home after treatment,” he said.

– “Panic” –

Another witness, Ahmed Yare, said the attack started from a hotel.

“I saw injured people near the beach, people were screaming in panic and it was difficult to know who was dead and who was not,” he told AFP.

Other witnesses confirmed that many people were on the beach when the explosion occurred.

“Everyone panicked and it was difficult to know what was happening because the shooting started shortly after the explosion,” witness Abdilatif Ali told AFP.

He added that some people tried to take cover by throwing themselves to the ground and others tried to flee. “I saw many people scattered on the ground, before they were able to flee the area,” he said.

The chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, offered his condolences to the victims' relatives, describing the attack on X as “horrible” and “merciless.”

In mid-July, nine people were killed and 20 others injured in Mogadishu when a car bomb exploded outside a crowded cafe during the broadcast of the Euro 2024 final, according to a report from security sources.

The al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabab, a radical Islamist rebel group, has carried out numerous bombings and other attacks in the past. Mogadishu and several regions of this volatile country in the Horn of Africa.

Although they were driven out of the capital by African Union (AU) forces in 2011, the rebels are still very present in rural areas.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud has promised a “total” war against the jihadists. The army has joined forces with local clan militias in a military campaign supported by an African Union force and American airstrikes.

However, the offensive has suffered setbacks, and the al-Shabaab claimed in early 2024 to have taken many localities in the center of the country.

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