- As 20 died in gun and bomb attacks at Somalia Lido beach
No fewer than 16 persons have been reportedly shot dead in Ula Upata community, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, by suspected cultists.
Rivers State Police Command, on its part, said it was aware of the death of eight persons.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmad Muhammad, toldVanguard that suspected cultists were behind the murder, adding that the timely intervention of policemen saved the community from more deaths in the cult war.
“The incident was one of cult related clashes at Ula Upata community, Ahoada East council. Eight persons were killed.
“The quick intervention of our men stopped the situation from escalating. One of the suspected cultists was arrested and an English pump action gun recovered from him. Investigation is right now ongoing,” he said.
An eye witness, Mr Frank Alabi, said he was in his room in the village when suddenly he heard gunshots, adding that he quickly ran into a nearby bush from where he monitored the shootout.
He said that the assailants, after killing 10 people in his Ula Upata village, moved to Ahoada West to kill six other persons.
“I saw everything. I was in my room when about five boys started shooting. The killing started about 12.05a.m. I was in my house when I saw the killers. They carried three AK47 and two pump action guns. I called the DPO and the Joint Task Force, JTF.”
One of those killed was a Police Corporal and nine others in the community before they later moved to Ahoada West to kill six more persons.
In the meantime, Islamist militants have attacked popular beachfront restaurants in the Somali capital Mogadishu, killing 20 people, the security ministry says.
Two car bombs exploded about an hour apart early on Thursday evening. In between, gunmen approached from the beach, firing on diners.
A siege followed, lasting eight hours, but has now ended, the ministry said.
Al-Shabab said it was behind the attack. The group has carried out frequent assaults on the capital.
Somali Prime Minister, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, condemned the attack as “barbaric”.
There are varying reports about how the attack started but it appears that as the first car bomb went off, at around 19:30 local time (16:30 GMT) on Thursday, the gunmen stormed the area.
They are reported to have burst into one of the restaurants and took hostages.
“They randomly fired at the people sitting near the beach before entering the restaurant,” witness Ahmed Nur told Associated Press.
The Somali authorities said they have arrested the suspected leader of the attack. Twenty people were injured, police said.
It is not clear whether the death toll includes any of the assailants.
After the evening prayer, I went to Lido beach, in particular Beach View restaurant. When I was there about 30 minutes, and I was spending time with my friends including journalists, we saw bullets raining on us.
A good number of people were seated around me, there was a wedding ceremony at the hall of the restaurant. We started running towards the door, but before I reached we heard a loud explosion.
I saw some people jumping from second floor. Bullets were flying all over the place, and there was another explosion. Then everyone got confused. I personally saw three wounded people. I did not see those who have been harmed by the explosions. I think the car was parked near the main door of the restaurant.
Lido Beach, on the northern edge of Mogadishu, attracts thousands of mostly young Somalis looking to relax and enjoy the beach and the surf.
Several restaurants have opened up along the beach front in recent years, and people would have been sitting out in front of them when the attacks began.
Al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaeda, was ousted from Mogadishu in August 2011, but still has a presence in large areas of southern Somalia.
The group stormed an African Union military base last week in southern Somalia, killing dozens of Kenyan troops.
Vanguard with additional report from BBC
