Ban sees 'fresh opportunities' for Somalia

There are "fresh opportunities" for the people of Somalia in terms of national security and basic services, the U.N. secretary-general said. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz al-Nasser arrived in Mogadishu for an unannounced visit Friday. Ban said he traveled to Somalia to see changes under way as the transition government slowly starts to gain influence over parts of the country. "I believe we are now at a critical juncture," he said in a statement. "(This is) a moment of fresh opportunities for the future of (the) Somali people." He said there was political momentum in the country that should be seen as sign of hope for the Somali people. Somali insurgent group al-Shabaab pulled out of Mogadishu earlier this year, giving the transitional government expanded influence. Clashes north of the capital, however, left insurgents, as well as African Union and Somali forces, dead this week. Kenyan forces recently joined African Union forces in backing the transitional government. Ban said the U.N. Political Office for Somalia was moving from Nairobi to Mogadishu in January. It was important, Ban said, that transitional leaders seize the opportunity as they make preparations to end their tenure in August. Somali hasn't had a functioning central government since the 1990s. Ban's visit marks the first for a sitting U.N. secretary-general in nearly 20 years.