A Somali police officer says at least five heavily armed men attacked security forces stationed outside the presidential palace in what appears to be an attempt to storm the heavily fortified residential and office complex. Security forces repelled the assault and killed at least three of the attackers while gunfire could be heard in the area nearby, said Capt. Mohamed Hussein. Two of the attackers have moved to positions at the nearby parking lot of the SYL hotel amid gunfire. They’ve not managed to penetrate the hotel compound and gunfight is still going on, said Hussein.
The Somali Police Commissioner, General Abdi Hassan Mohamed, and Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia, Ambassador James Swan, held discussions in Mogadishu on Monday. The discussions, which were also attended by C6 + representatives, focused on the security preparations ahead of the upcoming 2021 presidential and parliamentary elections in the country. C6 + are friends of Somalia including Italy, Sweden, England, the US, Ethiopia, AU, EU, and IGAD. The two sides also agreed on partner support to enable a safe and secure environment for the voting process. UN envoy, James Swan, and his African Union and head of AMISOM counterpart, Francisco Madeira, earlier met with the speakers of the Somali Lower and Upper House of Parliament stressing the need to speed up the approval of the elections bill by the members to keep time. The government of President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has pledged to hold the polls on its stipulated time following concerns by the members of the opposition political parties.
