Event Summary:
Sunday, 26th July 2015, a suicide attacker drove a lorry packed with explosives into the Jazeera Palace Hotel in Mogadishu killing at least 13 people and 40 other injured.
The Jazeera Palace hotel houses international diplomats who were the target of the Harakat Al Shabaab Al Mujahideen an Al Qaeda affiliated terror group based in Somali attack.
Some of the embassies housed in the hotel include Egypt, China and Qatar and it is also the preferred accommodation location for diplomats.
Analysis and Outcomes:
President Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia condemned the attack which has been termed as the worst in Mogadishu since the Shebab were pushed out in 2011.
The target was well chosen seeing as it was at the hotel that most high level governance and policy making meetings are held both by government officials as well as bilateral talks with other international actors.
Despite the Al Shabaab looking to send a message of terror with the aim of forcing the recalling of the diplomats back to their countries, President Sheikh has extended a message of hope and resilience.
The Somali National Army (SNA) together with the AMISOM troops have intensified the war on the Al Shabaab with the tremendous exploits over the Islamists to recapture the few areas they still have under control.
Summary:
While the Sunday attack of the Jazeera Palace Hotel was determined to scare the international community housed in the hotel, the Somali government through its Foreign Minister Hadliye Omar reassured that it wouldn’t affect their presence and operations in Somalia.
President Barack Obama, who is in the East Africa region pledged to support the governments to fight the Shebab and additional funding injected into the war against terrorism.
SNA, AMISOM and Ethiopian troops have expanded and intensified the fight against the Al Shabaab with operations like Juba Corridor.
The extra funding from the United State promised by Obama during his trip will be used to train, acquire equipment, combat violent extremism in counterterrorism operations in the region and especially in Somalia.
