Mogadishu mayor Thabit furious over attacks, calls for accountability

Mogadishu mayor Mohamed Thabit has called for accountability and responsibility following the Saturday afternoon twin bomb attacks in a Mogadishu hotel which claimed over 20 lives.

Thabit who also doubles up as Banaadir region governor said it was unacceptable for two deadly attacks to befall the city within a two weeks period. A truck bomb attack in Zoope Junction killed over 400 people and maimed hundreds of others mid this month in what has been described as the deadliest terror attack in the country’s history

“It is not acceptable to have another attack within two weeks period. We must be accountable. Responsibility must be taken. We believe the only way to prevent is for everyone to execute their work in the right way,” Thabit said on his Twitter account Saturday evening.

The mayor’s remarks follows increasing pressure on intelligence agencies and security forces to go the extra mile in preventing attacks in the city. National Intelligence chief Abdullahi Sanbalooshe said Thursday his agency was strained owing to lack of requisite technology, lack of support from international community and failure by western intelligence agencies to share crucial information obtained from scenes of attacks.

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President Mohamed Farmaajo is expected to chair the National Security Council meeting today bringing together heads of state governments who arrived in the city Saturday. The meeting which primarily aims at crafting a coordinated joint strategy in light of an offensive against Al-Shabaab is also expected to marshal resources from regional governments to facilitate the president’s response to Al-Shabaab.