Some gunmen suspected to be members of the militant group, Al Shabaab attacked a hotel in Somalia’s capital near the presidential residence on Tuesday, killing 5 people. 

Police said they killed two of the gunmen and rescued dozens of people from inside.

The Deputy Security Commissioner-General Zakia Hussein disclosed that two of the gunmen met their death as they launched the attack outside the hotel, while two others stormed inside. Hussein added that security forces rescued 82 people which included several officials.

In a Twitter post by the Deputy Commissioner, she warned people not to call their relatives who may be in the hotel while the operation was ongoing. See the tweet below:

This is not the first time the militant group would launch an attack in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. In fact, the group had regularly attacked the city in a to topple the government. The group had also attacked the hotel in 2016.

A witness told News Central TV that security forces at the hotel had mistaken the gunmen for police as they approached until they started shooting and throwing bombs.

Another witness narrated how he heard gunfire inside the hotel late into the night on Tuesday.

 “I saw security personnel evacuating people through the back wall using ladders. People where scampering for safety” he continued.

The militant group once controlled most parts of the capital but lost its strongholds when they were forced out of the city in 2011.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was on Tuesday handed his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. 

The event was attended by the Norwegian royal family, government officials and public figures. Ironically, the prize-giving happened at a time ethnic violence was rising in the East African country.

However, the 43-year-old Prime Minister and former Intelligence Chief reaffirmed his readiness to face the challenges that come with peace.

“For me, nurturing peace is like planting and growing trees. Just like trees need water and good soil to grow, peace requires unwavering commitment, infinite patience, and goodwill to cultivate and harvest its dividends.” Ahmed said.

Following the Nobel Committee’s announcement in October that it was honouring Ahmed for his efforts to decisively resolve the long-running conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, Ethiopians have expressed their concerns over the decision to honour him the prestigious award with many saying it came too early to the Prime Minister who only assumed office in April 2018.

Few months after the announcement by Nobel Committee, Ahmed shocked many, including the Committee itself when he disclosed that he was not going to grant interviews to international media or even field questions from young students who are usually given such opportunity at an event hosted by Save the Children.

 Following a meeting held in Asmara, Eritrea’s capital on 9 July 2019, between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the President of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki the 20-year-old cold war between the two countries was formally brought to an end.

Recall that the two countries plunged into prolonged hostility following the 1998-2000 border conflict.

The historic achievement happened barely three months after Ahmed assumed office as Ethiopian Prime Minister and was largely due to his diplomacy in tackling the issue.

Ahmed also showed his eagerness to boost the nation’s democracy when he released dissidents from jail, apologised for state brutality, welcomed home exiled armed groups, established a national reconciliation committee and lifted the ban on some political parties.

Notwithstanding all the laudable reforms, Ahmed still faces some major challenges.

His commitment to hold the first “free, fair and democratic” elections since 2005 is being threatened by ethnic violence.

About 80 people have been killed in protests in the country in less than two weeks after his Nobel Peace Prize announcement.

On arrival in Oslo, Ahmed told a Norwegian journalist that:

“The situation in Ethiopia has… new challenges but without challenges, there is no way that we can do something new,” 

“We consider those challenges as a great opportunity to do something positive.”

After 9 exhilarating race days across Kenya and Tanzania, Kris Rosenberger emerged as the new Safaricom East African Safari Classic Rally champion, after powering his Tuthill Porsche 911 to victory in Mombasa on Saturday.

The Austrian and co-driver Nicola Bleicher finished ahead of 2015 Safari Classic champion Stig Blomqvist, also in a Porsche 911. Rosenberger held a 1 minute 19.40 seconds advantage over Blomqvist before the final stage and went on to finish second in the final Mombasa Cement stage. The Austrian, who last rallied in Kenya in 1989, cruised to the finish of the 9-day endurance rally to claim victory by 13:01:48.

“It was a fantastic rally, our tactics were 100% right. We know Stig, he is obviously the best and we knew if we stay close to him and we had the pace and as we rallied through the last stage we pushed really hard. We also know that it’s really hard to beat Blomqvist and we are aware of that for sure. He had more problems than us and we still think he is the man and we are happy to be here”, said Rosenberger.

Blomqvist, navigated by compatriot Jorgen Fornander, applied his extensive experience in endurance rallying when things got tougher in the last two days of the rally. In the last section on Friday, his Porsche 911 steering dumper broke 50Km into the last stage, while on Saturday, he had a soft roll in the last Mombasa Cement stage thus losing some time and ultimately placing second.

Kabras Sugar Racing’s Onkar Rai completed the podium dash, finishing third in a Porsche 911 navigated by Drew Sturrock. Onkar managed to post the fastest times in 6 out of the 20 run competitive stages.

“I span in this last stage and luckily we are here. To be honest, it’s been a quick safari and to be able to beat people like Stig is a pretty big achievement for me. Drew has been on the notes and I have been on the pace. We had a bit of bad luck, it’s part of rallying and we get over it and we would like to be back in 2021, Onkar said.

Other best placed Kenyans include Onkar’s older brother Tejveer Rai/Gavin Laurence who finished 8^th, ALS Motorsports Aslam Khan/Imran Khan who finished 11^th,, while Kabras Sugar Racing’s Baldev Charger/Ravi Sini finished 14^th.

Another notable driver who emerged as the new driver to watch was 27-year-old Welshman Osian Pryce, navigated by fellow countryman Dale Furnish. Osian set the quickest time in the prologue and went on to rack up the fastest times in 4 stages, including the 14Km last stage at Mombasa Cement in Kenya’s Kilifi County.

Local rally ace Baldev Charger was the events front runner in the early days, before falling behind. He did however, manage to post fastest times in 4 stages. Out of the 20 competitors that started the 3,390km journey, 17 survived the demanding course across Kenya and Tanzania. Italy’s Gilberto Sandretto navigated by legend Fabrizia Ponz, was forced to end his run, citing important personal reasons back at home that he had to attend to. Another exit was Kenya’s Rommy Bhamra who left the rally unexplained.

In staying true to the nature of the safari classic rally, the weather played a major role in the cancellation or revision of several stages: The Day 3 itinerary was cancelled after torrential rain and subsequent flash floods rendered several sectors of the stages impassable, forcing the organizers to give the competitors a near full extra day service in Arusha, Tanzania.