UN Secretary General António Guterres has strongly condemned Sunday’s deadly attack by al-Shabab militants on a hotel in Somalia.
No fewer than 16 people were reportedly killed and several others injured after armed militants laid siege to the beach side Elite Hotel in Mogadishu, the Somalian capital.
UN spokesperson Mr Stéphane Dujarric conveyed the Secretary General’s reaction during his daily news briefing in New York on Monday.
He said: “The Secretary General calls on all the perpetrators of this heinous act to be held accountable.
“The attack demonstrates that the fighting against al-Shabab and all forms of violent extremism in Somalia must continue.
“The Secretary General reiterates the support and solidarity of the United Nations with the government and people of Somalia in their pursuit of peace, stability and prosperity.”
While commiserating with the families of those killed, the UN Chief wished the injured speedy recovery.
Dujarric also quoted the Secretary-General’s Special Representative to Somalia, Mr James Swan, as saying that the attack merited the strongest condemnation.
Swan said that the savagery had no place in the country that was being built by Somalis.(NAN)
