Mogadishu no longer deserves its deadly reputation
Why security in the Somali capital is improving
[Photograph: Eduardo Soteras Jalil/ Panos Pictures]
One evening six years ago Saakin Abdi, a young civil servant, enjoyed an ice-cream in central Mogadishu. Back then, residing in the Somali capital meant living with the knowledge that at any moment you could be the next victim of al-Shabab, al-Qaeda’s richest and deadliest affiliate. The next evening, a friend of Ms Abdi’s was in the same ice-cream parlour when a militant burst through the door and blew himself up. Her friend and six others were killed. They were among at least 320 people who died in al-Shabab attacks in the city in 2020.