Archive image — © EPA-EFE
18 people were killed and 28 injured in an attack on a Somali army barracks in the capital Mogadishu on Saturday evening.
According to initial reports, one or more men in uniform opened fire on the soldiers. A police source reports that there were also deaths in a mosque where people gathered for evening prayers.
It is suspected that a member of the Islamist terror militia Al-Shabaab had registered as a recruit at the training camp. The militia has already claimed responsibility for the attack through its radio station, saying it killed foreign soldiers.
The fatalities include at least six soldiers from the United Arab Emirates, a Somali army spokesman confirmed. One of them was a high-ranking expert responsible for a training mission in Somalia. The Ministry of Defense of the Emirates speaks of three deaths from the Emirates and one from Bahrain.
Unrest in Mogadishu
After the attack, a curfew has been imposed in large parts of Mogadishu. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud condemned the attack as “barbaric” and announced an investigation.
Last year, the Somali government succeeded in driving Al-Shabaab out of the capital. After years of violence, normal life in the capital could resume. But in recent weeks things have become restless again, with suicide attacks in a football stadium and a café. The terrorist militia controls large areas, especially in central Somalia, where Sharia law was introduced. In addition to attacks in Somalia itself, Al-Shabaab is also active in neighboring Kenya and Uganda.