# Attempted assassination of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud

On 18 March 2025, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, president of Somalia, was targeted by Al-Shabaab in a roadside bombing assassination attempt using improvised explosive devices near Villa Somalia, while his entourage headed to Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu. He narrowly survived.

## Background

Al-Shabaab, a Jihadist militant group and ally of Al-Qaeda, has waged an insurgency for more than a decade and continues to control parts of southern and central Somalia.
The group had tried to kill Hassan in 2012, 2013, and 2014.

### Major offensives in southern Somalia

On 20 February 2025, Al-Shabaab started a new offensive called "Operation Ramadan", against the Somali National Army and African Union Stabilization Mission in Somalia forces, and allied clan militias (Somali: Macawiisleey), in Hirshabelle State. The militant group's objective was to regain territory lost in the 2022 ground offensive led by the federal government and African Union, particularly strategic towns and supply routes, and to take control of Somalia's capital Mogadishu.
Al-Shabaab took over more than 15 towns and villages in the Middle Shabelle, Hiran, and Lower Shabelle regions within the first day of the offensive. The state capital Jowhar was later surrounded by Al-Shabaab fighters, and Hirshabelle's president Ali Guudlaawe fled the city. Opposition media compared the event to Afghan president Ashraf Ghani's escape from Kabul when it fell to the Taliban.
On March 7, 2025, the US Embassy in Mogadishu issued an alert cautioning of potential attacks by Al-Shabaab, prompting several nations to cancel flights to Mogadishu airport. In a speech on March 8, 2025, Mohamud accused the United States of disseminating "fake alerts," and such warnings were intended to destabilize his administration. Mohamud argued that these alerts undermined Somalia's sovereignty and urged the nation to focus on self-reliance rather than depending on foreign support.

### Beledweyne hotel attack and siege

On March 11, 2025, six Al-Shabaab attackers stormed the Cairo Hotel in Beledweyne, detonating a suicide car bomb and launching a 24-hour siege. The hotel was hosting clan elders and military officials coordinating Shabelle offensives. More than 21 people were killed, including all six attackers and two traditional elders, while dozens were injured.

## Attack

The bomb struck the vehicle as it was passing a checkpoint near the president's at El-Gaabta intersection, a heavily fortified part of the security perimeter surrounding the presidential complex Villa Somalia, as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's entourage was traveling to Mogadishu airport to join troops on the frontlines in Hirshabelle. The bomb was planted on the roadside beneath a two-story building.

## Victims

The blast killed at least 10 people, seven security personnel and three civilians, and injured 20 others. Among the victims was 31-year-old Somali Radio Risaala journalist Mohamed Abukar Dabaashe.

## Aftermath

The blast caused extensive damage to a roadside building and left a security convoy's bulletproof vehicle severely damaged. 22 journalists reporting the attack from the prominent radio station Risaala Media, which was briefly shutdown by the government, were detained by police.
Al Shabaab militants claimed the responsibilty of the assassination attempt. The Federal Government of Somalia detained reporters who covered the incident.

## Reactions
### Local

Hassan was unharmed. Presidential adviser Zakariye Hussein wrote in a post on X that Hassan was "good and well on his way to the front lines." Somalia's Information Ministry released a statement calling the attack a "cowardly act of desperation"
Former president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, former Prime minister Abdi Farah Shirdon, MP Abdullahi Hashi Abib and Puntland minister of interior Abdi Farah Said Juha condemned the attack.
The Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) condemned the killing, calling it a “cowardly attack” and extending condolences to Dabashe’s family and the broader media community.

### International

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and UK Embassy denounced the attack.
The UN secretary general António Guterres strongly condemned the attack.