UN head Ban Ki-Moon visits Somalia
October 29, 2014
The UN Secretary General walked around the fortified and tightly-guarded airport complex in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Wednesday.
He and World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim met with Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, according to a statement from Somalia's presidency.
Ban's choice of dress during Wednesday's visit - a business suit - was seen as an indication of the improving security situation in the conflict-ridden Horn of Africa nation, even though Ban stayed inside the airport complex.
He wore a bulletproof jacket during his last visit to Mogadishu in 2011, in the midst of a famine in which more than 250,000 people died.
Militant attacks, famine looming threats
Somalia has struggled for the past two decades with civil war, famine and failed governance.
A UN-backed African Union peacekeeping force, along with Somali troops, has in recent months made gains in claiming back territory from the extremist al-Qaeda linked militant group al-Shabab, but the extremist fighters continue to control substantial territory and launch brazen attacks even in the heart of Mogadishu.
The lack of security is compounding the country's humanitarian issues, with the UN saying it is again seeing the warning signs which preceded the famine three years ago.
According to UN figures, about 218,000 children under five were acutely malnourished, while almost three million people were in need of life-saving help.
However, the UN says it has only received about a third of the $933 million (690 million euros) it has appealed for this year to tackle the problem.
Ban began a Horn of Africa tour on Monday, having already visited Ethiopia and Djibouti. He is also due to travel to Kenya.
se/ (AP, AFP)