Somali president seeks ‘urgent’ help

Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has asked for “urgent” help by the international community, to help quash militancy in the African country.

His plea for help came at a regional summit, as an “al-Qaeda-inspired insurgency” closed in on his Mogadishu palace, AFP reported.

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) held a regional summit in Addis Ababa on Monday, where the Somali president told leaders of five other African nations that “Somalia is in the hands of Al-Qaeda and extremist groups. The whole issue needs urgent treatment,” AFP reported.

Ahmed also expressed concern about how “Somalia is going through its most dangerous phase in recent times” and asked the leaders for “intensified efforts in order to set up an effective military strategy.”

Leaders from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia came together in the Ethiopian capital to review the current situation in Somalia.

Somalia is facing serious security challenges due to intensified clashes in Mogadishu between fighters and Somali government troops backed by African Union forces, killing about 40 people last week.