US Re-Opens Embassy In Somalia 48 Hours After Insurgents Attack Military Base

The United States has announced the re-opening of its embassy in Somalia capital, Mogadishu 28 years after it was shut following the civil war that engulfed the country.

The embassy was re-opened on Wednesday, two days after Islamist insurgents and Al-Shabaab militants staged an attack on a Somalia military base that is a major launching site for US drone operation as well as a European Union convoy.

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Washington closed its embassy during the 1991 overthrow of president Siad Barre’s military regime which ushered in decades of chaos, however, diplomatic relations have strengthened in recent years.

“Today we reaffirm the relations between the American people and the Somali people and our two nations,” said Ambassador Donald Yamamoto in a statement.

“It is a significant and historic day that reflects Somalia’s progress in recent years, and another step forward in regularising U.S. diplomatic engagement in Mogadishu since recognising the federal government of Somalia in 2013.”

A permanent diplomatic presence was established in Mogadishu in December 2018, however, was operated out of Nairobi.

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The country continues to be wracked by an Islamist insurgency, and Al-Shabaab militants on Monday staged an attack on a military base that is a major launching site for US drone operations, as well as a European Union convoy.

US strikes in Somalia surged in April 2017, after President Donald Trump declared the south of the country an “area of active hostilities”.

“The United States remains a strong partner to Somalia in its effort to build a stable, credible, and democratic country,” the statement concluded.

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