Friday December 16, 2022
By Morgan Wolfe
MINNEAPOLIS — Coming off the heels of a visit to Washington D.C., Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is stopping in Minneapolis Thursday night. The president was re-elected for a new term recently and is expected to speak about the war against terror in Somalia.
"I am happy that he is visiting here," Minnesota resident, Mohamed Abdelle said." I am happy that the President has come to see how his people are living in the States."
Sheikh Mohamud's administration is battling a jihadi insurgent group active known as al-Shabaab. The U.S. has designated al-Shabaab as a terrorist group. It is known that al-Shabaab is affiliated to al-Qaida.
Sheikh Mohamud wants to warn Somalians living in Minnesota to not fall victim to schemes that send money to al-Shabaab.
"It's completely wrong to support anyone causing harm and we are happy with the President's actions against these individuals," Abdelle said.
According to U.S. Census data from 2020, more than 73,000 foreign- and native-born Somali people live in Minnesota.
This week, President Joe Biden hosted a number of African leaders at a summit. The U.S. Africa Leaders Summit was the first gathering of African counties with the U.S. government since 2014.
The Biden administration is seeking to revitalize their relationship with African leaders and announced it will be committing to send $55 billion to African countries over the next three years. Critics say this is a reaction to China's growing influence in Africa.