Somalia, Comoros, China.

Today's three stories you should know.

Nov 28, 2022

Somalia

Somali government forces have stormed a popular hotel in the capital Mogadishu and ended an 18-hour siege during which eight civilians were killed. A police spokesperson said one member of the security forces and all six attackers, members of the al-Shabab armed group, were killed. The Villa Rosa hotel is not far from the presidential palace and is popular with senior government officials. An attack in such a heavily-fortified area of the capital is a boon for the armed group. The army recently launched a much-trumpeted new campaign against the armed group, which has been trying to topple the government for more than a decade, and has seen some success on the battlefield. Shabab, though, appears to be increasing its attacks in response.

Comoros

Former Comoros president, Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, has been sentenced to life in prison for high treason. Sambi, 64, was convicted of embezzling millions of dollars under a scheme to sell passports to stateless people living in Middle Eastern countries. Sambi, who is a fierce rival of current President Azali Assoumani, had denied the charges and largely refused to attend the trial on the grounds that he didn’t believe he would be treated fairly. The Comoros, a small East African country made up of three islands, has been plagued by political chaos, including about 20 coups or attempted coups, since winning independence from France in 1975.

China

Huge global media attention being given to the protests in China against the country’s strict Covid policies. As mentioned in Proximities a few days ago, the demonstrations began in the city of Urumqi after 10 people were killed in a fire but then spread into several major cities as they continued for a third day. Much of the coverage is saying that protests don’t happen in China. That’s not true. But what is rare is that they coalesce around one issue and spread to so many places in such a high-profile way. Though still centered on the Covid restrictions, some protesters did chant more general anti-government sentiments. Police have now flooded many of the areas where the protests took place and they appear to have died down. The government may now carefully weigh what to do next with its ‘zero-Covid’ policy.