At Least Five Killed in Blast, Attack Near Mogadishu Mayor’s Office

A Somali policeman stands holds his position near the mayor's office following a blast in Mogadishu, Somalia January 22, 2023. (Reuters)
A Somali policeman stands holds his position near the mayor's office following a blast in Mogadishu, Somalia January 22, 2023. (Reuters)
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At Least Five Killed in Blast, Attack Near Mogadishu Mayor’s Office

A Somali policeman stands holds his position near the mayor's office following a blast in Mogadishu, Somalia January 22, 2023. (Reuters)
A Somali policeman stands holds his position near the mayor's office following a blast in Mogadishu, Somalia January 22, 2023. (Reuters)

At least five civilians were killed when extremist fighters set off a bomb then stormed a government building in Somalia's capital on Sunday, the ministry of information said.

Attackers from the al Shabaab group charged into the block that houses the office of Mogadishu's mayor around noon and got caught in a firefight with security forces, the ministry and witnesses said.

Security killed six of the militants and cleared the area by about 6 p.m., the ministry said on its Facebook page.

Al Shabaab has stepped up attacks in a show of resilience since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's government launched an offensive against the al-Qaeda-linked group in August.

"We were in the office and we were deafened by a blast. We ran out. Gunfire followed," Farah Abdullahi, who works in the mayor's office, told Reuters.

Sixteen people were injured in the attack, Abdikadir Abdirahman, director of Aamin Ambulance Services, said.

The mayor's office is in the local government headquarters building in a well-guarded area of Mogadishu.

Roads in the area have concrete barriers and multiple roadblocks. The building is about 1.5 km (1 mile) away from Villa Somalia, the president's office.

Al Shabaab said in a statement its suicide bombers struck, "then foot fighters entered the building after killing the building guards".

Al Shabaab, which has been fighting the government since 2006, frequently carries out bombings and gun attacks across the country.

In a sign the government was expanding its offensive against the group into the country's south, state TV for Jubbaland, one of the country's semi-autonomous states, reported on Sunday that regional and Somalia federal forces had launched attacks on al Shabaab and taken control of Janay Abdale town from the militants.



Russia and Ukraine to Hold First Peace Talks in Seven Weeks 

A security personnel stands guard in front of the Ciragan Palace before the third meeting between Russian and Ukrainian delegations for peace talks in Istanbul, Türkiye, 23 July 2025. (EPA)
A security personnel stands guard in front of the Ciragan Palace before the third meeting between Russian and Ukrainian delegations for peace talks in Istanbul, Türkiye, 23 July 2025. (EPA)
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Russia and Ukraine to Hold First Peace Talks in Seven Weeks 

A security personnel stands guard in front of the Ciragan Palace before the third meeting between Russian and Ukrainian delegations for peace talks in Istanbul, Türkiye, 23 July 2025. (EPA)
A security personnel stands guard in front of the Ciragan Palace before the third meeting between Russian and Ukrainian delegations for peace talks in Istanbul, Türkiye, 23 July 2025. (EPA)

Russian negotiators flew to Türkiye to hold peace talks with Ukraine on Wednesday, the Kremlin said, before what will be the first direct discussions between the warring sides in more than seven weeks. 

Russia played down expectations of any breakthrough at the meeting, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this week should focus in part on preparing a summit between himself and President Vladimir Putin. 

"Naturally, no one expects an easy road. Naturally, this will be a very difficult conversation. The projects (of the two sides) are diametrically opposed," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. 

Previous talks in Istanbul on May 16 and June 2 led to the exchange of thousands of prisoners of war and the remains of dead soldiers. But those meetings lasted less than three hours in total and made no breakthrough towards a ceasefire or a settlement to end almost three and a half years of war. 

US President Donald Trump last week threatened heavy new sanctions on Russia and countries that buy its exports unless a peace deal was reached within 50 days. 

But three sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters that Putin, unfazed by Trump's ultimatum, would keep on fighting in Ukraine until the West engaged on his terms for peace, and that his territorial demands may widen as Russian forces advance. 

On Wednesday, Russia said its forces had captured the settlement of Varachyne in Ukraine's Sumy region, where Putin has ordered his troops to create a buffer zone after Ukraine mounted a shock incursion into Russia last year and held onto a chunk of its territory for months. Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield report. 

In recent weeks, Russian forces have launched some of their heaviest air attacks of the war, focusing especially on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. 

Ukraine has hit back with attacks of its own, and last month inflicted serious damage on Russia's nuclear-capable strategic bomber fleet by smuggling drones close to air bases deep inside the country. 

CONFLICTING DEMANDS 

Zelenskiy said earlier this week that the agenda for talks was clear: the return of prisoners of war and of children abducted by Russia, and the preparation of a meeting between himself and Putin. 

Putin turned down a previous challenge from Zelenskiy to meet him in person and has said he does not see him as a legitimate leader because Ukraine, which is under martial law, did not hold new elections when Zelenskiy's five-year mandate expired last year. Russia also denies abducting children. 

The Kremlin said this week it was unrealistic to expect "miracles" from the talks. 

At the last meeting on June 2, Russia handed Ukraine a memorandum setting out its key demands, including: full withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from four regions of the country that Russia has claimed as its own; limits on the size of Ukraine's military; enhanced rights for Russian-speakers in Ukraine; and acceptance by Kyiv of neutral status, outside NATO or any other alliance. 

Ukraine sees those terms as tantamount to surrender, and Zelenskiy described the Russian stance as an ultimatum. 

Ukraine wants an immediate ceasefire, reparations, international security guarantees and no restrictions on its military strength.