The US says al-Qaeda has bases in Somalia, and US flotillas have already begun patrolling the sea lanes. The Muslim country has no effective central government, and much of the country is divided into fiefdoms presided over by competing warlords.
Somalia’s interim Prime Minister, Hassan Abshir Farah, has strongly rejected American charges, but he has also said he would welcome the deployment of US military teams in Somalia to investigate the possible presence of al-Qaeda members.
