Al-Shabaab Militants Attack Beachfront Hotel in Somali Capital

Militant group Al-Shabaab attacked a beachfront hotel in Mogadishu on Friday, June 9, 2023. Witnesses told VOA's Somali Service that the assault began with at least two explosions outside the Pearl Beach Hotel, followed by the storming of the hotel.

The hotel is situated near Lido Beach, a popular destination for politicians and members of the Somali diaspora visiting the capital.

This incident occurred during a period of relative calm for Mogadishu after the government in mid-April deployed newly trained military police in and around the city. However, violence by the group has wreaked havoc in other parts of the country.

Also on June 9, 2023 Somalia announced its readiness to take over security responsibilities from the African Union peacekeeping mission in the country, with 2,000 AU troops set to leave Somalia by the end of June, in line with U.N. Security Council Resolutions 2628 and 2670.

Somalia's Ministry of Defense said in a statement that it had recruited enough forces who will assume control of the security responsibilities currently handled by the AU troops.

The AU peace mission is expected to fully exit Somalia by December 31, 2024.

This article originally appeared on AllAfrica.

Image via The Defense Post.