Somalia: Farmajo phones Uhuru, pledges support in fight against terror

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somali President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo called his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday, January 17 to express his condolences for the terror attack in Nairobi, Garowe Online reports.

Farmajo joined world leaders in the condemnations of Tuesday's terror attack at DusitD2 hotel that claimed 21 lives and expressing solidarity with President Uhuru Kenyatta and Kenyans in general at this painful moment.

"I spoke on the phone with Kenyatta this morning [Wednesday]. We stand by Kenya at this difficult time," said president Farmajo in a statement posted on Villa Somalia's Twitter handle.

The president has assured his government's commitment to cooperate with the neighboring countries who contributed troops to the AU mission in Somalia [AMISOM] in all efforts the fight against the terrorism.

As an investigation continues, Kenyan police said 11 suspects were arrested in connection with the 14 Riverside attack which was immediately claimed by the Somalia-based Al-Qaeda-affiliated extremist group, Al-Shabab.

Two Somalis working for Somalia Stability Fund [SSF], Abdalla Dahir and Feisal Ahmed were among those killed in the attack. Dahir was a communications specialist with SSF while Ahmed served as head of monitoring and evaluation.

SSF said both have been killed as the ate lunch together at a restaurant in the office complex as grenades and gunfire erupted at the beginning of the horrific siege at the hotel by 5 attackers, who were finally neutralized.

Kenya has suffered deadly attacks, including Westgate mall and Garissa University since it sent troops to Somalia in mid-2011 to fight Al-Shabab following series of kidnappings against aid workers in its soil.

The East African nation shares a long, porous land border with Somalia, where is believed to be the gateway of most of the armed group's attacks happened near this 600-kilometer boundary that Al-Shabab fighters easily cross in anytime.

GAROWE ONLINE