Somalia Parliamentary Speaker Condemns Mogadishu Massacre
- 14 years ago
Somalia’s parliamentary speaker condemns the recent killing of at least 31 people, including legislators, by militants. The massacre took place at a hotel in Mogadishu this week.
Insurgents in army uniforms stormed a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, killing at least 31 people, including legislators.
Somalia’s parliamentary speaker condemns the massacre.
[Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, Somalia Parliamentary Speaker]:
"It was a destructive operation that caused death and misery at the hotel. We condemn those who massacred civilians and government officials, who we know they have no local agenda, which its engineers want to impose to Somalia by using the international terrorist group al Shabaab, who pretend to speak on behalf of Somalis. They do not want peace, governance and always want the misery of local people to continue, they will not even let those they killed today rest peacefully in their graves."
The hardline al-Shabaab Islamists claimed the attack. They have been fighting for three years to oust the Western-backed "transitional government", and control most of the city.
The speaker claimed those who were behind the killings were cowards.
[Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, Somalia Parliamentary Speaker]:
"We do not have to say anything on claims that they have killed innocent people, but we believe they are cowards attacking innocent civilians in their residences."
The Muna Hotel stands in one of the small nominally government-controlled areas of the capital, between the presidential palace and the Indian Ocean.
The assault underscored the failure of the government and peacekeepers to bring order after nearly two decades of anarchy, making Somalia a continual source of instability for east Africa.
Insurgents in army uniforms stormed a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, killing at least 31 people, including legislators.
Somalia’s parliamentary speaker condemns the massacre.
[Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, Somalia Parliamentary Speaker]:
"It was a destructive operation that caused death and misery at the hotel. We condemn those who massacred civilians and government officials, who we know they have no local agenda, which its engineers want to impose to Somalia by using the international terrorist group al Shabaab, who pretend to speak on behalf of Somalis. They do not want peace, governance and always want the misery of local people to continue, they will not even let those they killed today rest peacefully in their graves."
The hardline al-Shabaab Islamists claimed the attack. They have been fighting for three years to oust the Western-backed "transitional government", and control most of the city.
The speaker claimed those who were behind the killings were cowards.
[Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, Somalia Parliamentary Speaker]:
"We do not have to say anything on claims that they have killed innocent people, but we believe they are cowards attacking innocent civilians in their residences."
The Muna Hotel stands in one of the small nominally government-controlled areas of the capital, between the presidential palace and the Indian Ocean.
The assault underscored the failure of the government and peacekeepers to bring order after nearly two decades of anarchy, making Somalia a continual source of instability for east Africa.