By Asha Elmi - Reporter
Somalia, 8 June 2026 – Somalia’s federal government forces handed control of Elite Hotel to its management after a three-day security operation, sources confirmed to Dawan Media.
Abdullahi Mohamed Nur, the owner of Elite Hotel and a former Somali security minister, said the hotel would remain closed. He accused authorities of using the operation to damage the property, loot assets and plant weapons in the building.
Speaking at a press conference held at the residence of former Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Nur said the hotel had been occupied by security forces for three days following recent clashes in the Abdiaziz district of Mogadishu.
Nur said he was inside Elite Hotel on June 3 when clashes broke out in Abdiaziz, but denied that the hotel, its guards or staff had taken part in the fighting.
“There was no gunfire from inside the hotel, around the hotel or by the hotel guards,” Nur said.
He said he had ordered the hotel’s guards not to resist when security forces arrived, and told them to hand over their weapons because the forces at the entrance were state security personnel.
Nur accused some members of the forces who entered of damaging parts of the building, looting property and mistreating staff, including foreign workers.
He also denied police claims that heavy weapons found inside the hotel belonged to him or the business, saying only light weapons used by hotel guards were legitimately present.
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Nur said weapons were brought by security forces, alleging that the aim was to damage the hotel’s reputation and justify the operation.
“What was shown today was false, except for the light weapons intended for the hotel guards,” he said.
Nur said Elite Hotel would remain closed because he no longer believed it could operate safely under the current political and security conditions.
“I have decided that Elite will remain closed,” he said. “It will remain closed until the system in the country changes.”
Nur’s remarks came after Banadir police said they had seized dangerous weapons from Elite Hotel, including AK rifles, drones and PKM machine guns.
Nur, who previously served as security minister and later as a senior adviser to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, resigned from the advisory post in April 2026 amid rising political tensions.
The incident comes after recent clashes in Mogadishu between the federal government forces and armed groups allied to opposition figures.