Obama blocks assets of Somali group linked to Al Qaeda

Washington, 14 April-(ANA)-President Barack Obama has announced an executive order on  blocking the U.S. assets of an Islamic Somali insurgent group loyal to al Qaeda.

Obama targeted al-Shabaab, whose control of much of central and southern Somalia has left the Western-backed government in possession of little more than the capital, Mogadishu.

Gangs operating from Somalia have seized dozens of ships in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden in the last few years, defying western powers and the United Nations. (ANA)

FA/ANA/14 April 2010------