At least 21 people died in Somalia after militants stormed an upscale hotel in Mogadishu Friday, beginning a 30-hour siege. Somali officials say at least 117 people were wounded. Authorities accused members of the group al-Shabab of attacking and seizing the hotel at about 7 p.m. local time on Friday. An intense battle for control of the hotel lasted until Saturday night. It was the first large attack in Mogadishu since Somalia’s new president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, took office in May.
The attack in Somalia comes at a time when the country is on the brink of famine. The head of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, visited Somalia last week and warned the humanitarian crisis is intensifying.
David Beasley: “Climate change is impacting the entire world. And where I stand, here in the Horn of Africa, is absolutely no different. We’re now looking at 20 million people marching to starvation here in the Horn of Africa. In fact, where I stand, in Somalia, 7 million people, and that’s twice as many as it was just six months ago. Why? Conflict, extremist groups, coupled with the driest season that we have seen in decades. Four, five rainy seasons have just disappeared.”
In other climate news, monsoon rains have triggered flooding and...
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