Somali leader predicts defeat of extremists by end of 2015
Somalia's prime minister predicted Monday that al-Shabab extremists will be defeated militarily by the end of the year but he said tackling the root causes that attract young people to the al-Qaida-linked group will take some time.
Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke told reporters after a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council that there may be increased attacks during June when the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, which al-Shabab has done in recent years. But he said the military campaign by Somali and African Union forces has been successful and the Islamic militants now control only 20 percent of the country.
