At inauguration, Somali president calls on al-Shabaab to surrender

Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed speaks at his inauguration ceremony in Mogadishu, Somalia. Picture: Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP

Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed speaks at his inauguration ceremony in Mogadishu, Somalia. Picture: Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP

Published Feb 22, 2017

Share

Mogadishu – Somalia's new president was inaugurated on Wednesday, promising his people that the era of al-Shabaab and other Islamist militant groups was over.

Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, a dual US-Somali citizen, called on al-Shabaab's thousands of fighters to surrender, promising them "a good life" if they did.

"To those who work with al-Qaeda, al Shabaab and Isis (Islamic State), your time is finished," he said at the inauguration ceremony, attended by the leaders of neighbouring states.

"You have been misled, destroyed property and killed many Somalis. Come and we shall give you good life," he said.

Somalia has been in turmoil since 1991, hit by decades of conflict at the hands of clan militias. Over the past several years it has faced an insurgency by al-Qaeda-linked al -Shabaab, which the government is battling with the help of regional troops.

On Sunday a suicide bomb in a crowded market in the capital Mogadishu killed dozens of people.

As well as the security situation, Mohamed, who was elected by lawmakers on February 8, faces the challenge of cutting corruption.

"Our government will not loot but will help its people. We shall fight insecurity, economic crisis and unemployment," he said.

Reuters

Related Topics: