A security threat felt at Villa Somalia after Hayat hotel attack

The Uganda soldiers of the ATMIS contingent which are in charge of the state house’s security on Monday conducted a search at the offices of president Hassan Sheikh and PM Hamza Abdi Barre.

News Keydmedia Online
22 August 2022

MOGADISHU, Somalia – The siege at the Hayat hotel in Mogadishu by Al-Shabaab that killed 21 people has caused a security alarm in Somalia’s presidential palace under AU troops’ guard.

A source within the security agencies revealed to KON that there has been growing warning of an imminent terrorist attack on Villa Somalia that prompted fear and panic.

The Uganda soldiers of the ATMIS contingent which are in charge of the state house’s security on Monday conducted a search at the offices of president Hassan Sheikh and PM Hamza Abdi Barre.

Prior to the 30-hour Hayat hotel attack, there was increased vigilance in the Presidential Palace, which led to the cancellation of Friday prayers at a mosque over fears of possible IEDs.

The AU and Somali troops guarding the palace are on full alert and the visits of the top leaders’ officers were restricted from non-VIP persons, according to the sources.

In July 2014, Al-Shabaab gunmen attacked Villa Somalia after gaining access to pass the gate with the help of an employee of a Telecom firm who took them in his car.

KOM learned that there has been a warning alert sent to staff of the foreign missions in Mogadishu that Al-Shabaab could carry out attacks on key targets in the capital at any time.

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