An Al-Shabaab suicide bomber and gunmen stormed a popular beach in the Somali city, Mogadishu, killing 37 people and injuring many more, officials reported Saturday. This is one of the most deadly recent attacks in the East African country.
For more than 17 years, terrorists linked to Al-Qaeda have waged an insurgency against the internationally recognised federal government. They have previously targeted the Lido Beach region, which is popular with businessmen and government officials.
The attack, for which Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility in a post on a pro-Shabaab website, began late on Friday when a suicide bomber detonated a device, prompting gunmen to invade the area.
Survivors recalled how, after the initial blow, gunmen swarmed the beach, trying to “kill everyone they could.”
A horrific video posted online shortly after depicted wounded bodies on the seashore.
“The total number of deaths we confirmed is 37,” Somali Health Minister Ali Haji Adam told reporters late Saturday.
Eleven individuals are in intensive care units, 64 are still in the hospital with wounds, and 137 people with minor injuries have been discharged after receiving treatment, he added.
Officer Mohamed Omar told AFP that the terrorists “shot civilians randomly.”
Security troops terminated the attack, killing five shooters, while a sixth member of the group “blew himself up at the beach,” he said.
According to police spokesman Abdifatah Adan Hassan, the incident proved that the group was targeting civilians as well as government officials and military.
‘They killed everyone they could.’
Survivors reported that there were numerous people at the popular site when the incident occurred.
“As we were enjoying our time on the beach, a suicide bomber blew himself up among crowds of people,” Omar Elmi, an AFP reporter, said.
“Then we could see many people scattered on the ground, including dead, injured, as well as shocked people,” he recalled.
Another survivor, Harun Issa Wehliye, reported that one of his best friends was killed in the blast.
“After that, four armed men arrived and began shooting.” “They murdered everyone they could,” he told AFP.
Other witnesses shared similar stories. Hawo Mohamed, who lives near the location, said the attack killed at least seven individuals he knows.
“The devastation is immense and there is blood and severed pieces of human flesh strewn at the scene,” said him to AFP.
Hospitals requested blood donations following the flood of injured persons, according to local media.
Mahad Abdiaziz Ibrahim was waiting in a huge queue to donate blood, telling AFP it was “the best thing” he could do.
“I am donating my blood to help those in desperate need.”
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud announced an emergency meeting with the prime minister and key security authorities to address the “barbaric atrocity.”
Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre issued a statement calling the attack a “barbaric atrocity fundamentally contradictory to the cherished values of our religion and culture.”
According to his spokesperson, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned “heinous acts of terrorism” and stated that the organisation supported Somalia in its battle against “violent extremism.”
Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the African Union’s executive committee, extended condolences to the victims in a tweet, calling the tragedy “horrific” and “callous.”
The strike was decried, with the Saudi foreign ministry specifically denouncing the targeting of people. It conveyed its support for the administration and sent its sympathies to the victims’ families.
The government of Somalia is waging an offensive against the Islamist terrorists, and Al-Shabaab has taken credit for multiple bombings and attacks in Mogadishu and other regions of the country.
Past attacks on the Lido area include a six-hour Al-Shabaab siege on a hotel beside the beach in 2023, which resulted in the deaths of six civilians and ten injuries.
A deadly vehicle bombing at a city cafe last month claimed the lives of five people.
A brief respite in the conflict was broken in March when militants besieged a second hotel in Mogadishu for hours, leaving three people dead and 27 injured.