Somalia
Somali leader returns to Mogadishu after visiting foreign capitals
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May 11, 2008 - 2:26:05 PM

MOGADISHU, Somalia May 11 (Garowe Online) - Interim Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf returned to the capital Mogadishu Sunday unannounced, after a weeks-long trip visiting foreign capitals and meeting with world leaders.

President Yusuf's government delegation, which included Foreign Affairs Minister Ali "Jangeli" Ahmed, landed at Mogadishu's Adan Adde International Airport under heavy guard.

Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf

Mogadishu residents said the road linking the airport to the presidential palace Villa Somalia was closed off by Somali and Ethiopian troops.

Local media was unaware of the Somali leader's return to Mogadishu, with security officials saying the information was kept secret due to concerns that insurgents might target the airport with mortars.

A presidential aide who spoke with Garowe Online on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak with the media said President Yusuf will rest and then convene a press conference to speak about his trip.

The Somali leader visited Washington, D.C., Paris, London, Nairobi and Addis Ababa, which was his last destination before returning home.

President Yusuf has called for a United Nations peacekeeping force to replace Ethiopian troops protecting his interim government in Mogadishu.

Source: Garowe Online