Friday, February 26, 2010
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The new Somali special envoy to the United States says his top priority is rekindling the diplomatic relationship between the two countries nearly two decades of civil war in the African nation.Abukar Arman (ah-BUK'-ar AR'-man) is the first person to hold such a position since the country deteriorated into clan warfare that tore Somalia apart in the early 1990s.
The 49-year-old Arman, a resident of the U.S. since 1980 and most recently a teacher in Columbus, was appointed envoy Feb. 6 by Somali president Sheik Sherif Sheikh Ahmed.
The Somali government controls just a few blocks of the capital city of Mogadishu and is under siege from the al-Shabaab terrorist group.
Arman says he recognizes the job is a tall order but says someone has to be willing to do it.
Source: AP