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page 27 SOMALIA Death toll rises to 24 in Mogadishu hotel attack Somali officials say security forces have killed the gunmen who attacked a popular Mogadishu hotel, bringing the death toll from the assault to 24. Security Minister Abdirisak Omar Mohamed informed that security forces killed the three gunmen during a shootout in the Ambassador […]

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SOMALIA

Death toll rises to 24 in Mogadishu hotel attack

Somali officials say security forces have killed the gunmen who attacked a popular Mogadishu hotel, bringing the death toll from the assault to 24.

Security Minister Abdirisak Omar Mohamed informed that security forces killed the three gunmen during a shootout in the Ambassador Hotel Thursday morning, and rescued 57 hostages the attackers had held overnight.

The attack began late Wednesday afternoon with a car bomb blast outside the hotel that killed a fourth attacker. Afterward, gunmen went floor to floor in the hotel, opening fire on hotel guests.

Omar says at least 17 people – 12 civilians, three security guards and two members of parliament – were killed in or around the hotel. The director of Mogadishu’s Madina Hospital said three other shooting victims brought to the hospital died of their wounds.

EGYPT

Egypt receives first of French warships

Egypt has received the first of two advanced warships from France in a deal worth $1bn (£692m).

The Mistral helicopter carriers were originally made for Russia, but the contract was cancelled in 2014 over the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The first of the ships, which has been named after the late president Gamal Abdel Nasser, was handed over at a ceremony in western France.

The second ship, the Anwar Sadat, will arrive in Egypt in September.

Egypt is fighting a long-running insurgency in its northern Sinai region and fears being affected by the conflict in neighbouring Libya.

Egypt’s Defence Minister Sedki Sobhi, attending the ceremony in Saint-Nazaire, said the ships gave Egypt the “advanced capabilities in confronting terrorism within our borders and on our shores

KENYA

Court frees 43 accused of being secessionist group members

A court in Kenya’s port city of Mombasa released 43 men on Thursday who had been charged with being members of a group that seeks the independence of the Coast region from the hinterland.

The Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) accuses the government of decades of social and economic marginalization of the Coast region, and wants it to secede and form its own government.

The 43 were arrested in 2014, in Kilifi, north of Mombasa, for stepping up the activities of the movement. Authorities say this involved attacks on police and polling stations, and killing security personnel and individuals perceived to be non-natives.

In a government crackdown, the movement’s top leaders and supporters were arrested and charged with offences including murder and being members of an outlawed group.

The MRC denied involvement in all the incidents.

TURKEY

Gov’t recalls envoy in ‘genocide’ row

Turkey has recalled its envoy to Germany in protest against German MPs declaring the 1915 massacre of Armenians during WWI as “genocide”.

Turkey called the vote “an example of ignorance and disrespect”.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their people died in the atrocities of 1915. Turkey says the toll was much lower and rejects the term “genocide”.

The vote heightens German-Turkish tensions at a time when Turkey’s help is needed to control migrant arrivals.

The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said the resolution would seriously affect relations with Germany, and that the government would consider further measures in response to the vote.

The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted: “The way to close the dark pages in your own history is not by besmirching the history of other countries with irresponsible and groundless parliamentary decisions,” a clear reference to Germany’s Nazi past.

GAMBIA

Amnesty accuses Gambia of brutal repression

Amnesty International has urged Gambian authorities to release dozens of political prisoners and end a “brutal crackdown” ahead of presidential elections scheduled to take place in December.

In a report published on Thursday, the human rights group accuses police of beatings and arbitrary arrests of peaceful protesters and opposition politicians during demonstrations in April and May.

“Gambia’s elections are just six months away and yet opposition members are arrested and beaten, journalists are muzzled and civil society muted,” Alioune Tine, Amnesty International Regional Director for West and Central Africa, said in the report.

According to the UK-based group, at least 51 people are awaiting trial, including Ousainou Darboe, the leader of the United Democratic Party, and several other political figures.

WESTERN SAHARA

Saharawi Republic mourns late leader, seeks Nigeria’s support

By Abdullateef Salau

The government of the Saharawi Arab Democratic (SADR) has expressed grief over the death of their leader, President Mohamed Abdelaziz.

Abdelaziz, 68, died on Tuesday afternoon after a lengthy battle with cancer in an Algerian hospital. He was the secretary general of the Polisario Front, a movement that is fighting to end Moroccan rule in Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony annexed by Morocco in 1975.

“We are deeply sad over the loss of a great leader. There is no doubt that we will still continue, very confidently, the path he left behind until we gain full freedom from Morocco’s occupation,” an official of the Saharawi embassy in Abuja told Daily Trust.

He also appealed for the support of the Nigerian government towards its efforts to gain full independence from Morocco.

“We are very confident that the government and people of Nigeria we stand by our side until we are fully liberated,” he added.

SYRIA

Bomb explodes outside mosque in Latakia

A bomb has exploded near a mosque in a Syrian coastal city, killing and wounding several people.

The blast happened on Thursday afternoon in the al-Qa’tour district of the port city of Latakia.

Syrian state news agency Sana said a motorcycle bomb was responsible.

Syrian state TV channel Ikhbariya said it happened as people were leaving prayers. It was not immediately clear how many casualties there were from the bomb, or who carried it out.

Latakia lies in a coastal region that is home to President Bashar al-Assad’s extended clan. Until recently, it had been largely spared the violence that has engulfed much of Syria during the civil war.

But dozens of people were killed in nearby cities last month in bombing and other attacks which were carried out by the so-called Islamic State group (IS).

MALI

U.N. chief recommends adding 2,500 peacekeepers to Mali mission

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked the Security Council to add just over 2,500 peacekeepers to the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, which has been hit by a series of deadly attacks, according to a new U.N. report.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility on Wednesday for an attack a day earlier on two U.N. sites in northern Mali where a peacekeeper from China and three civilians were killed and over a dozen others wounded.

Ban’s report to the 15-nation Security Council, issued on Tuesday and seen by Reuters on Wednesday, calls for increasing the maximum number of U.N. soldiers in Mali by 2,049 personnel, which would raise the force’s authorized strength to 13,289.

UNITED STATES

California gunman ‘had kill list’

Police say the gunman who killed a professor at the University of California Los Angeles had a ‘kill list’, which led them to find a woman dead in Minnesota.

Professor William Klug, 39, was shot dead at UCLA on Wednesday.

LA police believe the gunman, identified as Mainak Sarkar, then killed himself.

Sarkar may have believed the professor had stolen his intellectual property, said police chief Charlie Beck.

Police said Sarkar, who was in a research group with Klug, drove from Minnesota to Los Angeles to kill Klug before killing himself. A gun was found at the scene.

On a list found at Sarkar’s home in Minnesota was a woman found dead in her home, Klug, and another UCLA professor, who is safe

INDIA

Court convicts 24 over Gujarat massacre

A court in India has found 24 people guilty of involvement in one of the most notorious massacres during the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat.

The special court acquitted 36 others in the so-called Gulbarg Society killings in Ahmedabad city.

Activists and riot survivors have expressed “disappointment” and said they would challenge the verdict.

A mob attacked the Gulbarg Society complex, hacking and burning 69 people to death.

The riots were among the worst since Indian independence. More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died after a train fire killed 60 Hindu pilgrims.