webmaster
© Copyright DEHAI-Eritrea OnLine, 1993-2010
All rights reserved
From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Sat Aug 28 2010 - 05:10:28 EDT
A capital on edge after hotel attack during Ramadan
By Sudarsan Raghavan
<http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/articles/sudarsan+raghavan/>
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, August 28, 2010
MOGADISHU, SOMALIA - The ceiling of the Hotel Muna was splattered with
burned flesh and pieces of clothing, the remains of two Islamist suicide
bombers who killed 31 people here Tuesday. The blasts blew out doors and
covered mattresses with blood and debris. They also shattered what little
sense of security Abullahi Warsame had left.
"We are in the worst chapter of our war," Warsame, the hotel's manager, said
as he touched a grapefruit-size bullet hole, one of scores that pocked the
walls after a gun battle with the attackers.
Violence has long riven Somalia. But the
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/24/AR201008240
3049.html?nav=emailpage> carnage at this three-story hotel, painted in soft
hues of green and yellow, has triggered a collective dread in the besieged
capital that the conflict has entered a dangerous new phase. Over two
decades, Warsame has witnessed U.S. airstrikes and warlords battling for
territory. But while they have fought year-round, none of Somalia's power
seekers had targeted civilians so calculatingly during Islam's holiest month
- until now.
"How can they kill during Ramadan?" Warsame demanded, stepping over spent
bullet cartridges. "Something like this has never happened."
The al-Qaeda-linked militant group al-Shabab asserted responsibility for the
brazen daylight attack, which many Somalis saw as reflecting the growing
influence on the militia of foreign jihadists. The tactics and planning,
they noted, mirror those used by militants in Baghdad and Kabul, where
assaults on civilians during Ramadan have become routine.
"It is very similar to what is happening in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan,"
said Mohamed Hassan Haad, an influential clan elder from southern Somalia.
"The brains behind this are foreign. This is not natural to Somali culture."
For other Somalis, the attack underscored the impotence of the U.S.-backed
Somali transitional government and the helplessness that has enveloped
Mogadishu. It unfolded inside government-controlled territory, within
walking distance of Villa Somalia, the presidential palace, and it took only
two assailants disguised in military uniforms to devastate a hotel known for
housing government officials, military commanders and lawmakers, many with
their own bodyguards.
"I am expecting al-Shabab to overtake the city and the whole country," said
Mussa Jama Abshir, whose family has owned the hotel for four decades. "They
are powerful. This is the reality on the ground."
Government turf shrinks
It has been a week of mayhem in Mogadishu, a city accustomed to
round-the-clock mortar attacks and fierce battles that have killed hundreds
and compelled many more to flee their homes. A day before the hotel was
attacked, al-Shabab declared a "massive final war" against the fragile
government and an African Union peacekeeping force that is preventing it
from being toppled.
Over the past few days, front lines have been pushed back, shrinking the
sliver of territory the government controls. Clashes have erupted along the
Muka al-Mukarama, the main road that connects Villa Somalia and government
ministries with the airport.
On Friday, pickup trucks loaded with gunmen and minibuses filled with
fleeing Somalis sped through intersections to evade bullets fired from
al-Shabab positions. African Union armored vehicles secured the parliament
building, a key target of the militants. Nearby, a patch of earth was
covered with tank shells from nights of bombardment. A few yards farther
were remnants of burned tires placed by al-Shabab, a bold sign of its
ability to infiltrate government-controlled turf.
In recent days, hundreds of people seeking refuge have arrived in the Medina
neighborhood, the capital's safest area because of its proximity to the
airport and the African Union base. Many had fled government-controlled
areas that al-Shabab militants overran. Few were willing to predict that
they would remain safe.
"The war has intensified, and life in Somalia has become more hellish," said
Halima Mohammed, 32, who arrived Tuesday with three wounded relatives after
a shell hit their home. "Only God knows if the war will come here."
Hardly anyone in the capital had thought the war would reach the Hotel Muna.
The building is nestled in the heart of Somalia's seats of power. Dozens of
soldiers protect the Villa Somalia and several government buildings; the
Ministry of Information, protected by African Union peacekeepers, is also
nearby. The hotel itself had eight guards.
The attackers arrived at 9:45 a.m., as neighborhood residents gathered at a
coffee shop on the hotel's first floor to hear the war's latest rumors. Boys
washed cars nearby; street vendors peddled their wares.
Mohammed Ahmed Bile was on his way to work at the prime minister's office.
As he passed the hotel, gunfire erupted, followed by explosions. A grenade
tore through a woman standing outside the hotel, severing her head.
"Her head hit me in the chest, and I fell down," recalled Bile, who was
struck in the abdomen by shrapnel. "I woke up in the hospital."
Shrapnel also struck Abdi Wali Ahmed, a bodyguard for a military commander
staying at the hotel. Being struck saved his life. He fell to the ground and
pretended to be dead while the militants shot up the hotel's tiny lobby,
killing four people.
"It was just by chance that I escaped," Ahmed said from his hospital bed.
Deepening fear
The gunmen, Somalis in green camouflage fatigues, made their way up the
hotel's stairs, going room to room and spraying bullets at anyone they saw,
witnesses recalled. Soldiers arrived and fired at the men, as did lawmakers
who had guns. Guests and hotel staff were caught in the crossfire.
"When they were finally cornered, they exploded themselves," said Isaac
Ibrahim Ali, 46, a lawmaker who escaped by jumping from a balcony. He landed
on a pile of bodies, he said, fracturing his leg.
The attack, and al-Shabab's ongoing push into government territory, has
heightened calls among Somalis for more international support. According to
the United Nations, the Somali government has received a tiny fraction of
the $58 million pledged by foreign donors last year. Soldiers have gone
months without pay.
"Al-Shabab can get uniforms easily by buying it from the soldiers," said
Abdulqadir Abdullahi Hussein, a frontline commander. "Soldiers even sell
their weapons to al-Shabab. The government can't be blamed. They don't have
money."
Today, fear and suspicion have deepened across Mogadishu. Hotels have
bolstered their security. Employees are frisked for bombs; at checkpoints,
government vehicles are inspected for impostors.
At Madina Hospital, after a doctor wrapped new bandages on Ahmed's legs, the
wounded man said the attack had altered his view of his countrymen. "It's
very difficult to trust anyone in the future, especially someone in a
military uniform," he said.
A few minutes later, relatives of Bile persuaded him to stop speaking to a
Western journalist. His sister walked up and, in a low voice, apologized.
"You must understand that al-Shabab is everywhere," she said. "They are
listening to us. They are observing us. Whatever we say will have
consequences."
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----