Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has vowed for an intensified and robust campaigns against the Islamist Al-Shabaab. The President pledged an all-out-war to degrade besides eliminate the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab that recently staged a deadly 30-hour hotel siege in Mogadishu.
The Friday night attack by Al-Shabaab was the biggest to hit Somalia’s capital since President Mohamud took office in June and underscored the challenge posed by the Islamist militant group in Somalia and to the neighboring countries. The VBIED attack on popular Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu left at least 21 people died and 117 others were wounded.
The Somalia President noted that Somali citizens were fed up with endless bloodbath witnessed in attacks carried out by militant operatives and urged members to come together in supporting the government and security assets in annihilating Al-Shabaab and bring Somalia to a path of stability.
“We are determined to weaken the terrorists who destroy our people till all the areas they control are liberated, this is a priority for our government and the preparation and implementation of that plan is ongoing,” he said, without elaborating.
Earlier in the week President Mohamud had convened a national security committee meeting attended by the prime minister, interior minister and the foreign minister, as well as the country’s defense chiefs to discuss the way forward in making Somalia safe.
In a state-run television, the President read out his speech where he vowed to the citizens to have no doubt that “Somalia will defeat the enemy that is oppressing its country, people and religion. He reiterated that his government, army and people will never surrender until we have a Somalia that is free from terrorists.
Somalia’s allies, including the United States, Britain, the European Union and Turkey, as well as the United Nations, strongly condemned the Hayat Hotel attack, as did ATMIS, the African Union force tasked with helping Somali forces take over primary responsibility for security by the end of 2024.
