What do we know about what happened inside Hotel Elite?

What do we know about what happened inside Hotel Elite?

The security forces of the Banadir region displayed weapons and other equipment inside Hotel Elite in Mogadishu this afternoon, which they claimed to have found within the hotel.

According to images published on social media by government media, the weapons included AK-47 rifles, BKM, and drones, which have not been confirmed whether they were used as weapons or not.

However, according to the Banadir Police, the weapons retrieved from the hotel included; drone aircraft, glass rifles, BKM, grenades, and AK-47.

The forces have been conducting operations in the Abdicasis district of the Banadir region for the past three days after former Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed moved from the house he recently vacated in the Abdicasis district.

Following a confrontation between the security forces protecting Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and the security forces, negotiations took place between the two sides, which ultimately led to Sharif returning to a house he previously occupied.

Sharif is among the opposition politicians who have announced their candidacy for the presidency of Somalia, accusing President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of 'making the election non-transparent'.

The security forces have been inside the hotel since Saturday, and the owner of the hotel stated that "armed forces are unlawfully present inside Hotel Elite".

Mahdi Omar Muumin, the police chief of the Banadir region, explained why they have been at the hotel since Saturday: "It was due to a delay, a locked room that was being avoided to break into. Eventually, they handed over the key, the hotel manager handed over the key. It was opened, and elderly people he sent were witnesses when the weapons were being retrieved".

The hotel owner, Abdullahi Mohamed Noor, who is among the opposition members, spoke on the phone with BBC reporter in Mogadishu Ibrahim Mohamed Aadan this morning, stating that "his hotel is being unlawfully held, and property has also been looted".

He added that they will conduct an inventory of the property in the hotel and then share it with the media.

"Parts of the hotel have been destroyed, and property inside the hotel has also been looted, details of the missing property will be shared with the public," Abdullahi stated in a written message he posted on his Facebook page recently.