Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


    December 09, 2011

UN Chief Makes Landmark Visit to Somalia

   VOA News
   UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon (L) stands next to Somali Prime
   Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali (C Left) after his arrival at Mogadishu's
   Adan Abulle airport, December 9, 2011.
   Photo: AFP
   UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon (L) stands next to Somali Prime
   Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali (C Left) after his arrival at Mogadishu's
   Adan Abulle airport, December 9, 2011.

   United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has arrived in Somalia,
   the first visit by a top UN leader since the collapse of the government
   two decades ago.
   Ban met with Somalia's prime minister and officials from the African
   Union forces.
   The AU's force in Somalia, AMISOM, is backing the UN-supported
   Transitional Federal Government (TFG), in the war-torn country that has
   been without a stable government since 1991.
   The last president was ousted 20 years ago, and heads of militant
   groups took over.
   The U.N. secretary-general's visit is considered a sign that progress
   is being made in Somalia , as control by Al-Shabab militants decreases,
   especially in parts of the capital, Mogadishu.
   Al-Shabab withdrew its fighters from the capital in August after the
   government launched an offensive with the support of African Union
   troops. The Islamic group said the move was "tactical" and vowed to
   return.
   Since late November, there have been 15 bomb attacks in Mogadishu, and
   the government has blamed them on al-Shabab.
   In an interview with VOA on Thursday, a former official with Somalia's
   National Security Agency said al-Shabab appears to have adopted
   guerilla tactics to destabilize Mogadishu.
   Colonel Abdulahi Ali Maow also said al-Shabab appears to have created a
   unit of more sophisticated fighters, some of whom may have infiltrated
   pro-government forces.
   Al-Shabab has been fighting the AU forces in an effort to impose a
   strict Islamic law in Somalia.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

.