US taps first envoy to Somalia in 20 years

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time in more than 20 years, the U.S. will appoint an ambassador to Somalia in what a senior official on Tuesday described as show of faith for future stability in the war-ravaged African nation.

Even so, the U.S. has no immediate plans to re-open its embassy in the Somali capital Mogadishu, which has been beset by violence and deadly bombings spurred by the militant network al-Shabab. As recently as two weeks ago, a car bomb outside the national parliament building killed at least seven people, and a senior al-Shabab fighter threatened Americans in a radio broadcast in Somalia.