Mogadishu siege ends, witnesses recount incident

A siege by radical Islamists State Shebab in Mogadishu which begun with a car bomb on Thursday against Somali officials has ended. The attack which was claimed by the Islamic state group left 30 people dead.

Witnesses recount the horrific incident.

Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu is Secretary General of the National Union of Somali Journalists who survived the attack.

Thanks to Allah, as far as I know, a member of the hotel staff was killed, but most of the people inside survived, I was the first to leave the hotel when the explosion took place.

“Thanks to Allah, as far as I know, a member of the hotel staff was killed, but most of the people inside survived, I was the first to leave the hotel when the explosion took place and I saw a lot of vehicles burn on the premises”, he said.

“I saw it with my own eyes, 25 dead bodies, among the people killed, there are children. seen, were only two, their bodies are there now”, said former Somalian MP, Abdi Barre Jibril.

Hospital sources say at least 112 people were admitted to the three main hospitals in the city.

Thursday’s siege destroyed the Maka Al-Mukarama hotel. The Shebab regularly carry out attacks against hotels in the Somalian capital. In November, two car explosions in front of a hotel left 40 people dead.

AFP