And on Saturday, Mogadishu’s presidential compound, known as Villa Somalia, was hit again in a well-coordinated assault that police said involved car bombs, a suicide bomber and a gun battle that lasted for hours. Police Capt. Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press that at least seven people were killed, including one of the attackers.
But Al Shabab is not the only threat. Clan and business rivalry is still pervasive in Somalia as well, and while assassinations in the past few years have been blamed on Al Shabab, security officials believe some targeted killings are motivated by personal or financial grievances.
Mogadishu still remains among the world’s most dangerous cities for foreign visitors and government or high-profile security officials.
However, for the average Somali, despite the mayhem Saturday that locked down the capital, in many ways, life in Mogadishu has never been safer in the last two decades.