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At the beginning of novenber I spent a week in Mogadishu I arrived on Turkish airlines the only European airline to fly there,i am from England so no problem with a visa I got stamped in at the airport.

I was picked up at the airport with armed guards and taken to the hotel that I booked in advance through Jumia travel all other arrangements I made direct through the hotel,on booking in I was advised to have a room on the ground floor as the only other floor above was well within sniper range and at night with the light on my shadow passing the window would be a sitting duck,there is a bunker on the ground floor in case of attack, none of the staff working in the hotel all African but not Somali would dare to go out into Mogadishu as they say they would be shot, The British and American governments advise any white man in Mogadishu will be kidnaped, held for ransom and or killed just before I arrived a huge lorry bomb was set off killing god knows how many followed by a car bomb outside a school killing many ,and a couple of days after I left on the 10 November 4 car bombs were placed around a hotel killing 53 and injuring 100 some of them will die,the owner of the hotel died in the blast 7 years after his father was killed in the same way,this place is a bloodbath Al Shabab want to destabilise the country targeting all government buildings and hotel.

If you want to visit Bakaara market the scene of Black Hawk Down you have to hire a small army you in a armoured personnel carrier in the middle with 2 small open back trucks with machine guns mounted on there backs 1 in front 1 behind this will cost you I got them down from 700 to $300.

On the small beach was 25 marines from the African front just landing from patrolling the shipping lines into the port of Mogadishu from pirates.

I spoke to politicians .Government ministers hoteliers and the people of Mogadishu they can not see any end to this mess they think the world has given up on them God bless them.AMJ