MOGADISHU: Nine people died after Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents stormed a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu, battling security forces until the early hours of Monday, a police spokesman said.
A suicide car bombing on Sunday evening was followed by a shootout between Al-Shabab militants and security forces at the Hotel Afrik.
“The operation is over now. Nine people including four attackers died and over 10 civilians were injured,” Sadik Ali, told reporters from the scene and via Facebook.
The attack on a hotel in the heart of the heavily fortified city comes as Somali politicians wrangle acrimoniously over delayed elections and follows the withdrawal of around 700 US military personnel last month.
The US troops were largely supporting Somali special forces known as Danaab who are skilled at complex operations against high level Al-Shabab targets.
They also enjoyed considerable support from the Americans, including air support and medical evacuations, and some Somali politicians have raised fears the pullout ordered by US President Donald Trump could weaken the fight against al Shabab.
The insurgency has battled since 2008 to overthrow Somalia’s internationally-backed central government and establish its rule, based on its own harsh interpretation of Islamic law.
It carries out regular gun and bomb attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere in Somalia.
It has also vowed to disrupt national elections, which were scheduled to begin in December but have been delayed after the opposition accused the president of packing the electoral board with his allies. Newly appointed legislators were meant to pick a president on Feb. 8, but even the elections for lawmakers have yet to be held.
Times of political turmoil have also traditionally provided a boost to the insurgency, as security chiefs may be ordered to concentrate on political rivals rather than Al-Shabab.
Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble said in a statement that former military general Mohamed Nur Galal was among those killed in Monday’s attack.
“I condemn the barbaric attack,” he said. “General Mohamed Nur Galal will be remembered for his over 50 year role in defending the country.”
Deaths after hotel attack in Somali capital
https://arab.news/p7f34
Deaths after hotel attack in Somali capital
- A suicide car bombing on Sunday evening was followed by a shootout between Al-Shabab militants and security forces at the Hotel Afrik
- Al-Shabab insurgency carries out regular gun and bomb attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere in Somalia
South Korea will boost medical school admissions to tackle physician shortage
- Jeong said all of the additional students will be trained through regional physician programs
SEOUL: South Korea plans to increase medical school admissions by more than 3,340 students from 2027 to 2031 to address concerns about physician shortages in one of the fastest-aging countries in the world, the government said Tuesday.
The decision was announced months after officials defused a prolonged doctors’ strike by backing away from a more ambitious increase pursued by Seoul’s former conservative government. Even the scaled-down plan drew criticism from the country’s doctors’ lobby, which said the move was “devoid of rational judgment.”
Kwak Soon-hun, a senior Health Ministry official, said that the president of the Korean Medical Association attended the healthcare policy meeting but left early to boycott the vote confirming the size of the admission increases.
The KMA president, Kim Taek-woo, later said the increases would overwhelm medical schools when combined with students returning from strikes or mandatory military service, and warned that the government would be “fully responsible for all confusion that emerges in the medical sector going forward.” The group didn’t immediately signal plans for further walkouts.
Health Minister Jeong Eun Kyeong said the annual medical school admissions cap will increase from the current 3,058 to 3,548 in 2027, with further hikes planned in subsequent years to reach 3,871 by 2031. This represents an average increase of 668 students per year over the five-year period, far smaller than the 2,000-per-year hike initially proposed by the government of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, which sparked the months long strike by thousands of doctors.
Jeong said all of the additional students will be trained through regional physician programs, which aim to increase the number of doctors in small towns and rural areas that have been hit hardest by demographic pressures. The specific admissions quota for each medical school will be finalized in April.
