Amid tight security Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has been inaugurated as the new President of Somalia.
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Amid tight security Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has been inaugurated as the new President of Somalia.
The dual US-Somali citizen actually took office days before his inauguration. His handover ceremony was overshadowed by Al Shabaab militants who fired mortar shells near the presidential palace, killing two children.
Speaking from an aircraft carrier in the capital Mogadishu, he offered to help reintegrate those wishing to leave the Islamist groups threatening the nation.
“I tell those misguided people, they should come back to their country as we are ready to give them the support they need to integrate within the community, to work and have a peaceful existence. To those who work with Al Qaeda, al Shabaab and ISIL, we tell you your time is finished.”
He warned of challenges ahead; two decades worth of challenges, to be precise.
It will take at least 20 years to “fix” Somalia and rid the country of the conflicts and droughts plaguing it, he told the assembled crowd.
The dual US-Somali citizen actually took office days before his inauguration. His handover ceremony was overshadowed by Al Shabaab militants who fired mortar shells near the presidential palace, killing two children.