Kerry makes surprise visit to Somalia, meets top officials

John Kerry met with Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Tuesday on an unannounced visit, the first trip by a US secretary of state to the Horn of Africa nation that is battling an al Shabaab insurgency after two decades of civil war.

The meetings with Mohamud, the prime minister and provincial leaders were held inside the perimeter of Mogadishu's airport, surrounded by seven-foot walls of sandbags, according to a reporter travelling with Kerry.

"This is a great moment for us," Mohamud said as he greeted Kerry. He remarked that the capital had changed over the past two years and even the roads were congested with traffic. "The roads are less bumpy and we have traffic jams," he said. Kerry replied: "Traffic jams! Well, you're getting normal."

The United States and Western nations have poured aid into Somalia to help reconstruction and prevent it sliding back into the hands of al Shabaab, who still use territory they control to launch attacks there and on neighbouring states, such as Kenya.

An African Union force, AMISOM, supported by US drone strikes has pushed al Shabaab from their strongholds Somali officials were only told on Monday of Kerry's visit, initially being told a lower ranking official was arriving.

A senior US State Department official told reporters that the visit was a signal that "we are not turning our backs on the Somali people and will continue to engage with Somalia until we bring al Shabaab terror to an end". In February, Washington named Katherine Dhanani as ambassador to Somalia. She is the first since the early 1990s, when fighting between warlords plunged the nation into chaos.

The United States pulled its forces out of Somalia after the 1993 "Black Hawk Down" incident when a US helicopter was shot down over Mogadishu, killing 18 soldiers. At that time, it was the deadliest one-day incident since the Vietnam war. Other Western nations, including Britain, have already opened embassies. For now, Dhanani will make regular trips to Somalia from a base in Nairobi, the official said.

In a bid to shore up the government and expand its control, Somalia is due to hold a referendum on a new constitution and an election for its president in 2016. Diplomats say political bickering and government reshuffles have hindered that process.

Somalia's president was previously picked by lawmakers who were themselves nominated, not voted for, by their communities. The State Department official said on Tuesday that Somalia was expected to hold "some form of election" in 2016 aiming for the vote to be "different from what they've done before".

"It has to be something that shows that they are moving forward in terms of a representative government." Kerry told provincial leaders, "Great progress has been made, and you have all contributed to that progress, cooperation and working to deal with the issues with the proper sharing of responsibilities."

More than 450,000 Somali refugees in Kenya were waiting to return, he said. "They want to come home. It's a challenge for Kenya and the solution is for them to be able to come home to peace and safety," he said.

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