Al-Shabaab militants create chaos, pain for Somalis

c. 2015 USA Today

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Sitting under a veranda at the former headquarters of Somali Airlines, Ali Bashir sipped coffee and chewed khat, an African herb, as he recounted 15 years of anarchy fomented by al-Shabaab Islamic militants.

“Life is very hard here,” he lamented. “There’s nothing to eat and nowhere to work. But the rebels will come and still ask you for money.”