DHAKA: US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that war-torn Somalia was facing a better future, as he made a landmark visit as the most senior US official to visit since Washington’s doomed military intervention more than two decades ago.

The top US diplomat spent just a few hours in the capital, Mogadishu, and did not venture out of the heavily-fortified airport, where he met Somalia’s internationally-backed president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmake.

‘More than 20 years ago, the United States was forced to pull back from your country,’ Kerry said, referring to the infamous ‘Black Hawk Down’ battle of 1993, when 18 American soldiers and hundreds of Somalis were killed during a military and humanitarian intervention that went wrong.

‘I visited Somalia today because your country is turning around,’ Kerry said.

‘Now we are returning in collaboration with the international community and bearing high hopes - but also mixed with ongoing concerns.’

Kerry’s visit was aimed at giving a diplomatic push to Somalia’s fragile government in their fight against Al-Qaeda’s Somalia branch, the Shebab, who despite losing territory have continued to attack in the capital, across the country, and in neighboring states.

BDST: 2055 HRS, MAY 05, 2015
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** Kerry in surprise Somalia visit