MOGADISHU (KAAB TV) – It was a normal Friday evening filled with bustling activity at the Beach View restaurant, one of the busiest spots on Mogadishu’s Liido beach. The restaurant, with its open view of the white sandy beach, waves crashing in the background, and fresh air, draws many beachgoers who scramble to get a seat early.
Amina, 21-yr-old and her sister arrived just a few minutes past 6:00 pm. By then, it was already hard to find a seat, forcing them to stand and hope for a vacancy, as promised by the waiter.
Despite the wait, the loud music and laughter from nearby tables made the atmosphere lively and worth the wait.
“Everybody was busy. People were laughing, there was music, and there were no available seats. My sister and I were standing,” said Amina, now recovering in the hospital with several non-life-threatening injuries.
Tragically, Amina’s younger sister, Amran who was a university student, was killed on the spot after the first suicide bomber exploded nearby as she ran toward shelter.
Shocked and traumatized, Amina recounted her last memory of how the terror attack unfolded.
“My sister ran from me, but she was killed by the suicide bomber. Her body was cut into pieces. I was injured, but I am not seriously hurt,” she painfully narrated, showing her bandage-covered limbs and partially swollen face.
Bombing, and several others and then shooting
The attack on the Beach View restaurant began when an al-Shabaab suicide bomber blew himself up in the restaurant on Friday. This was followed by several other explosions, and then gunmen stormed the building, killing at least 50 people and injuring close to 100, according to various sources including ambulances and local hospitals.
Police spokesman Abdifatah Hassan reported 32 deaths, while the Minister of Health, Dr. Ali Haji, reported about 40.
Amina also recounted that armed police officers at nearby checkpoints started shooting at civilians who survived the terror attack.
Hamdi Mohamed, who survived with minor bruises on her knees, also witnessed a young man being shot by the police while running for shelter.
“There was a young man who was running ahead of me. The police shot him several times and he died. They were uniformed police who came after the attack. It is unacceptable that the police and terrorists are killing civilians in the same hour of the attack,” she said.
Another survivor, 28-year-old Ismahan Ali Yusuf, who sells tea at her tea shop near the restaurant, an alternative for those who couldn’t afford the expensive hotel tea, survived as she was the first to run and can now narrate how the Somali security forces meant to protect civilians started indiscriminate shooting that killed many survivors.
“It was a peaceful Friday overcrowded with visitors. I am very sad that disaster happened this Friday. I survived as I was the first to flee,” she said, as she went back on Saturday to collect the shoes she left there on Friday night.
“Many of those killed died from gunshots by the police. I want to appeal to the security forces to stop shooting civilians when such terror attacks happen,” she requested.
The scene was one of complete chaos and frightening on Saturday morning as volunteers began scavenging the area. Lifeless young bodies scattered on the beach with smashed restaurant tables on the side.
Rescuers found pieces of human bodies on the shore as stray hungry dogs began dragging human flesh suspected to be from those killed in the suicide explosion.
From the other direction on the street, burned vehicles, partially damaged buildings, and abandoned shoes were the only visible remnants.
The number of attackers is still unclear, but intelligence officers told our reporter that a suicide Toyota SUV car bomb believed to have been used by at least four attackers was seized and safely detonated on Saturday.
Another emerging issue is how al-Shabaab and their suicide car bomb managed to access the highly protected Liido beach area by passing dozens of checkpoints in the city, which even unarmed civilians can hardly pass through.
“Initial investigation shows the armed attackers used government-issued ID cards and military uniforms, which gave them access to the Liido beach. How did they get the military uniforms and the ID cards? We do not know yet,” said one senior officer at NISA, who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on the matter.
The militant group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement released afterward.
On Sunday, Villa Somalia released a statement saying that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud questioned the security agency officials about how the attack occurred.
Security sources also said several junior security officers were detained in connection with the attack.
The president’s statement did not mention the arrests and refrained from addressing questions about the military uniforms and the ID cards used by the attackers, as well as the police shooting that killed survivors.