The Republic, 1960 to 1991
The Landshut hijacking and the Mogadishu airport rescue, October 1977
On 13 October 1977 four hijackers seized the Lufthansa airliner Landshut on a flight from Mallorca to Frankfurt and demanded the release of Red Army Faction prisoners in West Germany. After a journey through several airports the plane landed in Mogadishu, where the captain was shot dead by the hijackers' leader. With the consent of the Somali government, West Germany's GSG 9 unit stormed the plane early on 18 October 1977; three of the four hijackers were killed and all the hostages were freed.
In short
In October 1977, during the war with Ethiopia (see The Ogaden war, 1977–1978), Mogadishu airport became the scene of one of the best-known hostage rescues of the period. This page records the events as the sources report them. Somalia's relations with Germany are covered in Somalia and Germany, and the government of the day in Siad Barre era, 1969–1991.
The hijacking
On 13 October 1977 four Palestinian hijackers seized the Lufthansa plane Landshut on its flight from Mallorca to Frankfurt, with 86 passengers and five crew on board. They demanded the release of imprisoned leaders of the Red Army Faction (RAF), which was then holding the German employers' leader Hanns Martin Schleyer hostage. The plane was diverted and finally landed in Mogadishu. The captain was shot dead by the hijackers' leader (German History in Documents and Images, German Historical Institute). Wikipedia records that the hijackers belonged to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and also demanded the release of two Palestinians held in Turkey (Wikipedia, Lufthansa Flight 181).
The rescue at Mogadishu
West Germany's Minister of State Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski led the negotiations with the Somali government, which agreed to let the GSG 9, a special unit of the Federal Border Guard, storm the plane. On 18 October 1977 the unit stormed the aircraft in an operation that took seven minutes. Three of the four hijackers were killed; the hostages were unharmed, and a GSG 9 officer and a flight attendant were injured (German History in Documents and Images). Wikipedia records that the assault took place under cover of darkness with ground support from the Somali armed forces, and that all the passengers and the four surviving crew were rescued (Wikipedia).
Aftermath in Germany
After the rescue the imprisoned RAF leaders died by suicide in Stuttgart-Stammheim prison, and RAF members killed Schleyer (German History in Documents and Images).
Sources differ
- Time of the assault. Accounts give shortly after midnight Central European Time or about 2 a.m. local time on 18 October.
- Somali role. The German Historical Institute records the Somali government's consent; Wikipedia also records ground support from Somali forces.
- Number of passengers. 86 passengers and five crew (German Historical Institute); Wikipedia gives 87 passengers and four crew rescued, after the captain's death.
Read the primary sources yourself
Sources
- German History in Documents and Images, German Historical Institute · germanhistorydocs.org
- Wikipedia, Lufthansa Flight 181 · en.wikipedia.org
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Where it happened
Same era
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- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
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- Finland (Somali diaspora)28,167 Somali speakers lived in Finland at the end of 2025, more than half in Helsinki. Numbers, history, work, leaders and ties home.
Keep reading
- The 1960 Constitution of the Somali RepublicThe 1960 Somali Constitution in its own words: the republic, equal rights, the flag, Islam, the National Assembly, the president, and the 1961 referendum.
- How Somali came to be written: from Osmanya to the 1972 Latin alphabetThe history of written Somali: Arabic-script writing, Osmanya, Borama and Kaddare scripts, the 1972 Latin alphabet, and the 1974 literacy campaign.
- The Somali Democratic Republic, 1969–1991: how the state was runHow the Somali Democratic Republic was run, 1969–1991: the SRC, the single party, the 1979 constitution, the courts, the NSS, local government and the script.
- The 1964 Somali parliamentary electionSomalia's first post-independence national election, March 1964: the parties, the results, women's vote in the north, and the crisis over the prime minister.
- The 1969 Somali parliamentary electionSomalia's last multi-party vote, March 1969: 64 parties, the SYL win, the rush to join it, fraud charges, and the road to the October 1969 coup.
- Kenya's Northern Frontier District, 1962–1967: the vote that was not followedKenya's NFD, 1962–1967: the British commission, the March 1963 decision, the break with Britain, the conflict that followed, and the Arusha memorandum.