March 17, 2009

Good News: Somalia Restarts Exports After Islamist Takeover

Since al-shabaab is in control of much Somalia, they have begun exports and trade with nearby neighbors.

Via Reuters: SANAA, March 17 - A suicide bomber behind a deadly attack that killed four South Korean tourists in Yemen was trained in lawless Somalia, just across the busy Gulf of Aden shipping route, a Yemeni security official said on Tuesday.

The bombing, which is likely to further damage the impoverished country's nascent tourism sector, came after repeated calls by al Qaeda leaders for attacks on non-Muslim foreigners in the Arabian Peninsula.

Violence in Yemen has affected foreign firms developing its oil and gas sector, while attacks on foreigners -- including kidnappings by tribesmen -- have hit tourism, diplomats say.

Yemen, the ancestral homeland of Osama bin Laden, has for years been battling al Qaeda and similar groups, but no group has yet claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack.

The official identified the bomber as Abdel Rahman Mehdi al-Aajbari and said he had trained in Somalia, a failed Horn of Africa country that Western security services fear could be a base for al Qaeda-linked militants.

Well, what did you think they would export? Khat? Maybe the Obama administration can work out a free trade agreement with al-Shabaab?

By Howie at 10:18 AM | |