UN Security Council slams attack on Mogadishu hotel

The UN Security Council on Tuesday condemned `in the strongest terms’ the suicide attack on a hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia.

The attack caused many deaths, including one member of the security team at the Chinese Embassy.

A suicide bomber detonated his car at the gate of the Jazeera Palace Hotel in Mogadishu, killing 15 people with most of them being civilians.

Deadly Attacks Target Mogadishu Hotels. PHOTO:article.wn.com

A Chinese national, who was an armed guard, was killed and three other staffers were injured in the blast, the Chinese embassy in Somalia confirmed Monday.

The Security Council in a statement in New York offered their condolences to the peoples and governments of the Republic of Somalia and of the People’s Republic of China.

It recalled the fundamental principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises, and the obligations of host governments to take all appropriate steps to protect diplomatic and consular premises against any intrusion or damage.

The six-story luxury hotel, with the front sheared off, used to house foreign embassies and sometimes hosts government high-level meetings.

The Chinese embassy, located on the top two floors of the hotel, had its offices partially damaged in the attack, which was one of the fiercest in Mogadishu.

It caused panic among hotel workers and local residents.
Al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based militant group linked with al-Qaeda, on pro-militant radio station Andalus, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The radical organisation said that the attack was to retaliate the recent operations by African Union and Somali forces in the southern Somali regions of Dinsoor and Bardhere.