Al-Shabab, which has been linked to al-Qaeda, has been waging an armed rebellion against Somalia’s central government for about 15 years. The terrorist group was driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 by an AU force, but it still controls swathes of countryside and regularly carries out deadly strikes on civilian, political and military targets. Meanwhile, US top diplomat Antony Blinken on Thursday welcomed the Ethiopian government’s commitment to investigate the diversion of American food aid away from people who needed it, the State Department said. The USAID added that it intended to resume food assistance as soon as it was confident in the integrity of the system. Blinken met with Ethiopian leaders on the margins of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS (Islamic State) in Saudi Arabia.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 09, 2023 14:33 UTC