| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa Horn |
| US seeks to bolster Somalia's weak government |
| 2009-08-07 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets Somalia's president on Thursday, showing U.S. support for a fragile government which is battling against militants including al-Shabaab insurgents. Clinton said she would discuss with President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed how the world could help stabilize the Horn of Africa country, which Western security agencies say is a haven for militants plotting attacks in the region and beyond. "We know we're facing a very difficult conflict, and we also know that the presence of al-Shabaab and terrorist elements within Somalia poses a threat," said Clinton, ahead of the meeting, on the sidelines of a U.S.-African trade conference. "It poses a threat to Kenya, poses a threat to the stability of Africa and beyond. So this is an area where we're going to work even more closely together," she added. Australia said Thursday it was concerned about Somali youths turning to radical Islam as migrants from the war-torn African nation expressed shock at the unearthing of an alleged suicide plot. Hundreds of Australian police were involved in dawn raids on Tuesday which they say foiled an attack which was just weeks away and would have been the worst seen in Australia. Attorney-General Robert McClelland said police were working to stop Somali youths, many of whom grew up in refugee camps and arrived without their families, being lured into extremism. "The evidence was that a lot of Somali youths come here literally without families they have no support networks around them and no role models," McClelland told public broadcaster ABC. |
| Posted by:Fred |