8 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has extended the national emergency regarding Somalia for another year due to the situation of violence and insecurity in the country.
“The situation regarding Somalia continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” Biden said in a statement to the House of Representatives.
The constant acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia and the violations of the arms embargo imposed by the UN Security Council led to the declaration of a national emergency on April 12, 2010.
In 2012, measures were taken regarding charcoal exports, which generated a large source of income for the jihadist group Al Shabaab –which maintains ties to Al Qaeda–, as well as the misappropriation of Somali public property and acts of violence committed against the civilian population of the country.
Somalia has increased offensives against Al Shabaab in recent months with the support of clans and local militias as part of a series of decisions taken by the president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who promised upon taking office to put the fight against terrorism at the center of his efforts to stabilize the African country.
