UN Chief Ban Ki-moon Condemns Deadly Al Shabaab Suicide Attack against Jazeera Hotel in Mogadishu

Event Summary

• Sunday 26^th July 2015; at least 13 dead and scores others injured in Al Shabaab suicide attack on Jazeera hotel in Somali’s capital, Mogadishu.
• Monday 27^th July 2015; United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemns strongly on the attacked orchestrated by the Al Shabaab on popular Jazeera town in Mogadishu.
• UN Chief reaffirmed that the egregious attack will not deter the UN commitment and other international partners in bringing peace and stability in Somalia.
• Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Nicholas Kay, also condemned the terrorist act.
• The popular Jazeera hotel has been targeted on previous occasions.

Analysis

The Jazeera Palace hotel attack by the Somali based jihadists; the Al Shabaab is a retaliatory in response to AMISOM bombing attacks that have seen the outfit lose key strategic areas such as Bardheere and Dinsoor which have their strongholds for over five years.

AMISOM which is an African Union’s force in Somalia has intensified war against the Islamist rebels, Al Shabaab.

The joint forces from Kenya, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia and Djibouti have made significant gains by pushing the militants into smaller pockets of territory by their unified military offensive.

Al Shabaab wants to impose its strict interpretation of Islam on Somalia, thus they are against anyone aiding the government. On Saturday 25^th July 2015, the Terror Movement Al-Shabaab claimed to have assassinated a Somali Member of Parliament together with his bodyguard.

Forecast

While AMISOM and Somali forces have made significant gains against the Al Shabaab militants, the group is seen to conduct some attack on strategic areas as a retaliatory move.

Jazeera hotel attack was a strategic place previously targeted by the Al Shabaab in the past. In 2012, suicide bombers stormed the hotel while President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was inside.

The popular Jazeera Palace Hotel is a home to diplomatic missions of China, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

The Hotel serves as a popular joint where Somali government officials and foreign visitors meet for official duties making it prone to terrorist attacks.