Somalia, at War, Rummages for Cash

By SARAH CHILDRESS

The cash-strapped Somali government is searching to recover funds locked in bank accounts around the world, in an attempt to stave off bankruptcy and fund a battle that has accelerated in recent days against an al Qaeda-backed insurgency.
Somali and African Union troops last week launched a counterattack against Islamic militants in the capital, Mogadishu, in an effort to carve out space to govern. At least 48 people have been killed, according to medical personnel.

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Reuters

A fighter from al Shabaab, the Islamist insurgency trying to unseat the government of Somalia, runs from a burned African Union tank in the capital, Mogadishu, on July 2.Read More

The government of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed controls only a small area of the city, with much of the largely lawless country under the sway of clans, pirates or militants from the al Qaeda-backed group, al ShabaaMr. Ahmed has reached out to neighbors to support the fight. A special summit of East African leaders this week ordered the deployment of 2,000 additional troops to Somalia to strengthen the 6,000-troop African Union peacekeeping mission.