Mary Harper

Welcome to my blog.

Here are some recent photographs of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, taken shortly after the Islamist group, Al Shabaab, announced its withdrawal from the city.

Since 'withdrawing', Al Shabaab has launched several deadly suicide and other attacks in Mogadishu, killing dozens of people.

These photographs were taken in districts previously occupied by Al Shabaab. As you can see they have been emptied of people.

The other day, I met the new Somali foreign minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, in a fancy hotel in Nairobi. He told me he was rather embarrassed because Al Shabaab was still visible in the outskirts of Mogadishu. As we sat drinking tea, he said he would like the American military to come in to help Somalia. For now, he has the Kenyans. And a bit of American help in the form of drones (to bomb suspected Islamist targets) and 'advisors' (to help 'train' the Somali security forces).