PRESS RELEASE

(For Immediate Release)

AMISOM condemns attack on Jazeera Palace Hotel

Mogadishu, 1st Jan 2014: The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif has condemned the attack on Jazeera Hotel in Mogadishu this evening.

Two Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIED) went off minutes apart outside the hotel frequented by government officials and aid workers. First responders including Somali national security forces, AMISOM and emergency medical teams were on the ground minutes after the first attack before the second explosion. Authorities are working to establish the total number of those injured, while staff at AMISOM’s Level II hospital remain on standby to receive the casualties.

“We condemn this cowardly attack aimed at dulling the optimism of the Somali people as we look forward to a new year,” said Ambassador Annadif while singling out the courage of the Somali security forces and AMISOM troops for their quick response.

This is the second time the hotel, which is close to the Aden Abdulle International Airport, has been targeted. In September 2012, a suicide attack was launched on the hotel where Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was holding a press conference with Kenya’s then Foreign Minister Samuel Ongeri, claiming the life of an AMISOM soldier and injuring several Somali security officers.

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For more information, please Contact; Colonel Ali Aden Houmed,(Somalia) +252 699758567; Email: amisommediacentre@gmail.com