Al Shabaab attacks Somali parliament, at least 10 dead
Sat May 24, 2014 8:27pm GMT
* Fighting over, seven attackers killed
* Islamist militant group al Shabaab claims responsibility
* Al Shabaab says it killed 30 people
* U.N. representative calls it "attack against the people" (Adds security
minister resigns)
By Feisal Omar and Abdirahman Hussein
MOGADISHU, May 24 (Reuters) - Al Shabaab militants stormed Somalia's
parliament on Saturday, killing at least 10 security officers in a bomb and
gun assault that the United States condemned as a "heinous act of
terrorism."
The attack started with a car bomb at a gate to the heavily fortified
parliament compound, followed by a suicide bombing and then a gun battle
that continued for hours. Al Shabaab is an al Qaeda-linked group that killed
67 people at a Kenyan shopping mall last year.
"Ten government forces died and 14 others were injured in the attack today.
Four lawmakers were also injured. Seven of the fighters who attacked the
house were also killed as you see their bodies," Kasim Ahmed Roble, a police
spokesman, told reporters at the scene.
Roble made no mention of any civilian casualties.
A spokesman for al Shabaab, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, said the group's
fighters had killed 30 people. "We killed 30 from the AU (African Union) and
from the various forces of the so-called Somali government," he said.
The al Shabaab estimate of the death toll was not independently verifiable.
Reuters witnesses saw four bodies at the scene and a soldier fall from a
rooftop after being shot. Reuters television pictures showed a large pool of
blood near a blast site, and a man with his shirt drenched in blood running
away from the scene.
The fighting continued for hours after the initial explosion, with gunfire
and smaller blasts being heard around the parliament.
"We are behind the suicide bombing, explosions and the fighting inside the
so-called Somali parliament house, and still heavy fighting is going on
inside," said the al Shabaab spokesman.
The African Union Mission in Somalia said in a statement that all the
lawmakers who were in parliament before the attack were safely evacuated.
The attack on parliament, a building about 300 metres (328 yards) from the
president's palace that is guarded by African Union peacekeepers and Somali
forces, showed that the al Qaeda-linked group remained capable of hitting
the centre of Mogadishu despite being pushed out of the capital two years
ago.
"The terrorists have once again shown that they are against all Somalis, by
killing our innocent brothers and sisters. These cowardly, despicable
actions are not a demonstration of the true Islamic faith," said Prime
Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed.
The U.S. State Department strongly condemned the attack, offering
condolences "to those affected by this heinous act of terrorism."
"We continue to stand firmly with the Federal Government of Somalia and the
many international partners working to support its efforts to root out the
threat posed by al-Shabaab," State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf
said in a statement. "Cowardly acts such as these will not shake our
resolve."
Nicholas Kay, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for
Somalia, said: "The Federal Parliament represents the people of Somalia and
their hopes and aspirations for a peaceful and stable future. Today's attack
is an attack against the people of Somalia for which there can be no
justification."
LOSING CONTROL
Somalia's government is struggling to impose any sense of order, more than
two decades after the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre tipped the country
into chaos.
In February, at least 11 people were killed when al Shabaab attacked the
presidential compound. In April, it killed two lawmakers.
After the blast, Somalia's security minister said on state radio he was
resigning, while the president said on the same radio he was cutting short
his trip to South Africa, where he had gone to attend President Jacob Zuma's
inauguration.
A Western diplomat who has worked with regional intelligence agencies said
the attack would add to pressure on President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud from
about 100 parliamentarians who last month called for him to be impeached
over worsening security.
"The federal government is exercising no control," the diplomat said. "Those
... in parliament will start asking questions: What is this guy achieving?"
The diplomat said the attack showed that a surge by the African Union
peacekeeping troops had not weakened al Shabaab's capacity to wage
asymmetric warfare in the capital, where coordination between Somali and
foreign intelligence agencies is poor.
"Because intelligence is fragmented, al Shabaab is slipping through the
net," said the diplomat. "They are becoming more dangerous."
In neighbouring Djibouti, at least two people were killed on Saturday in
double grenade blasts at a busy restaurant popular with Westerners in
Djibouti, police said. (Additional reporting by Abdi Sheikh in Mogadishu,
Drazen Jorgic in Nairobi, and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Writing by
George Obulutsa; Editing by Stephen Powell, Peter Cooney and Lisa Shumaker)