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Somalia: President Hassan Skeikh Mohamud inaugurated
Tanzania’s Augustine Mahiga, the top U.N. representative to Somalia, said the inauguration of Mohamud was a watershed moment for Somalia.
“This marks the end of the transitional period and the beginning of a new era for Somalia,” Mahiga said in a statement. “The change that was envisioned … has arrived. The process was transparent, representative and Somali-owned and led.”
Somalia has seen much progress over the last year. Al-Shabaab militants were forced out of Mogadishu in August 2011, allowing businesses to thrive and the arts and sports to return. The militants have either fled to northern Somalia and Yemen, or have retreated to Kismayo, the last major town they control. But occasionally they succeed in breaching security to stage terrorist attacks in Mogadishu such as the assassination attempt on Wednesday by suicide bombers who tried to infiltrate a hotel where the new president was addressing reporters.
Mohamud faces an uphill task unifying a fractious country in the face of the al-Qaeda-linked Islamist insurgency and rebuilding a bombed-out infrastructure, food security and institutions.
Another challenge is fighting endemic corruption that plagued previous governments. While Somalia has had transitional administrations since 2004, it has not had a functioning central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a longtime dictator and turned on each other, plunging the nation into chaos.
Last month Somali leaders endorsed a new provisional constitution that expands rights for Somali citizens. The African Union hopes that one day all of Somalia will be able to vote to endorse or reject the constitution.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press
