Eight killed in jihadist attack on UN compound in Mogadishu
At least eight people were killed and eleven injured in an attack by the Somali jihadist group Al Shabab on Wednesday on the compound that houses, among others, the UN offices in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, police confirmed to Efe. "I am witnessing the fire, smoke is coming out of the tents (...). There are dead and wounded who have been taken to hospital," police officer Mohamed Adam, who witnessed the attack, told Efe.
"The attack resulted in the death of eight people, including two policemen, an AMISOM (African Union mission in Somalia) soldier and five civilians," Adam told Efe. The assault, carried out by two attackers, targeted the Halane compound, which is part of the heavily guarded Green Zone and contains the premises of the UN, AMISOM, several embassies and international organisations.
The compound is home to UN agency officials, diplomats, spies (foreign and Somali), contractors, bodyguards and AMISOM military; it also houses the European Training Mission of the Somali Army. The compound is also adjacent to Aden Adde International Airport.
According to Adam, the attack took place at around 10:55 local time (07:55 GMT) and the assailants were shot dead after a firefight that set fires in several commercial establishments in the compound.
Al Shabab, affiliated with the Al Qaeda terrorist network since 2012, claimed responsibility for the attack through its local radio station Alfurqan. This attack coincides with an escalation of actions by the group and in the final phase of parliamentary elections in the country.
On 15 March, Somalia missed a second deadline to complete its lower house elections due to political tensions, clan feuds and allegations of irregularities.
In January, Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble and the presidents of the country's five federal states agreed to complete these polls by 25 February, a commitment they failed to meet. Completing the parliamentary elections is an essential milestone for holding the presidential elections, which have been postponed several times since 2021 despite the fact that President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo's term expired that year.
The systematic postponement of the elections - which are supported by the international community and opposed by Al Shabab - is a distraction from notable problems for the country, such as the fight against jihadists.
The group controls rural areas in the centre and south and wants to establish a Wahhabi (ultra-conservative) Islamic state in Somalia. Somalia has been in a state of conflict and chaos since the 1991 overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, leaving the country without effective government and in the hands of warlords and Islamist militias such as Al Shabab.
