War-torn nation hosts key summit

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia on Tuesday hosted its first regional summit of African heads of state in 30 years, a source of pride in this Horn of Africa country after decades of chaos and deadly attacks by alShabab extremists. On social media, people marveled that their country was trending for something other than explosions.

Security measures were high as Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Uganda President Yoweri Museveni and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn arrived, and residents said celebrations of the Muslim holiday Eid alAdha had been severely restricted in recent days.

The summit was seen as the latest sign of confidence in a return to normal life in Somalia, which was plunged into decades of conflict in 1991 when warlords overthrew the regime of dictator Siad Barre.

But homegrown Islamic extremist group alShabab continues to strike at the heart of Somalia’s seaside capital, killing scores of people so far this year. In the latest attack, a suicide bomber detonated an explosivesladen truck near the gate of the presidential palace in Mogadishu late last month, killing at least 12 people.

Several of the countries invited to the summit take part in a 22,000-strong African Union force protecting Somalia, though the force faces funding cuts and troop shortages that experts have warned could further destabilize the country.

The summit’s communique called on the AU force and Somalia’s security forces to “expand their operations, deal with evolving terror threats and immediately recover the remaining areas controlled by alShabab.”