Somalis eagerly await news of loved ones as the siege on the hotel ends

Somalis anxiously awaited the fate of their missing relatives on Sunday as rescue workers tried to clear debris after a deadly 30-hour siege by al-Shabaab jihadists at a hotel in the capital Mogadishu.

At least 13 civilians lost their lives and dozens were wounded in the al-Qaeda-linked group’s gun and bomb attack that began Friday night and lasted over a day, leaving many feared trapped at the popular Hayat Hotel.

On Sunday morning, the area around the hotel was quiet and the streets were blocked by a heavy security presence as rescue workers and bomb disposal experts tried to clear the site of explosives and clear debris.

The hotel building was badly damaged during the shootout between Somali forces and the militants, some parts of it collapsed and many people despaired for their loved ones who were inside when the attack started.

The attack was the largest in Mogadishu since Somalia’s new President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office in June and underscored the challenge of quelling the Islamist militant group’s 15-year insurgency.

The hotel was a popular meeting place for government officials, and scores of people were inside when gunmen stormed the property.

Officials previously said dozens of people had been rescued, including three small children who were hiding in a toilet, but it is not known how many were still inside the hotel when the siege ended around midnight.

Dozens of people gathered near the road leading to the hotel on Sunday morning, desperate for news of their family members, while security forces patrolled the area and would not let anyone through.

Businessman Muktar Adan, whose brother was at the hotel when the attack began, told AFP news agency he was awaiting permission to enter the hotel and look for his siblings.

“My brother was at the hotel the last time we heard from him but his phone is off now and we don’t know what to expect,” he said.

Said Nurov, who heard the attack unfold as bullets and flames ripped through the hotel, said he was very concerned for his friend, who was a guest at the property.

“I hope… (he) is alive, he’s stayed at the hotel according to the latest information we got from his sister,” he told AFP, describing the mood as “tense.”

Somalia’s allies, including the United States, Britain and Turkey, as well as the UN, have strongly condemned the attack. So does ATMIS, the African Union force tasked with helping the Somali armed forces assume primary responsibility for security by the end of 2024.

The government is expected to hold a press conference on Sunday morning, according to a security commander.

Mohamud said last month that ending the jihadist insurgency would require more than a military approach, but that his government would only negotiate with the group when the time was right.

According to police, the attack began with an explosion caused by a suicide bomber who, along with gunmen, made their way into the hotel.

A second blast occurred just minutes later, witnesses said, claiming more casualties as rescuers, security forces and civilians rushed to help the injured.

Al-Shabaab spokesman Abdiaziz Abu-Musab told the group’s Andalusian radio earlier on Saturday that its forces had “inflicted heavy casualties”.

In a statement from the group’s news agency, quoted by surveillance group SITE Intelligence, the jihadists claimed to have held hostages, including government and security officials, during the siege.

Al-Shabaab has carried out several attacks in Somalia since Mohamud took office and launched strikes on the Ethiopian border last month.

The militants were driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 but still control parts of the countryside and retain the ability to launch deadly strikes, often targeting hotels and restaurants.

The deadliest attack occurred in October 2017 when a truck loaded with explosives blew up in Mogadishu, killing 512 people.