Wednesday, October 29, 2014
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has landed in Somalia for his second visit to what was considered until recently a war-torn capital.
Ban walked around Mogadishu's airport complex in a dark suit and without the bullet-proof vest he wore during his trip to Somalia's capital in 2011.
Security has been improving in Mogadishu and throughout southern Somalia, though the militant group al-Shabab continues to carry out deadly suicide and gunfire attacks.
Ban may bring up the issue of charcoal with Somali and African Union military leaders. The U.N. Security Council last week authorized the inspections of boats suspected of carrying illegal shipments of charcoal from Somalia.
Somalia's charcoal market in 2013 and 2014 was worth $250 million, about 30 percent of which flows to al-Shabab fighters.
Source: AP