MOGADISHU, Somalia, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Residents of Somalia, an African country in conflict for over two decades, say in a survey they feel safer and more optimistic.
A survey of 1,600 Somalis by their Heritage Institute of Policy Studies, based in Mogadishu, Somalia, added a perceived decline in violence was noted by respondents.
The militant group al-Shabaab was forced out of the capital, Mogadishu, in 2011. However, attacks in cities and an al-Shabaab control over some rural territory prompted respondents to note the attacks, and a mistrust of the Somali judiciary and security force, remain a source of anxiety. Still, current conditions are an improvement over the intense violence Somalis have endured for the past 20 years. The report of the survey noted "the overwhelming majority of respondents stated that they had not witnessed clan or group conflict in the last 12 months."
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told the United Nations General Assembly last week that "We have a country that is beginning to unite as a nation, behind a vision that will see a federal and united Somalia in 2016. Our success requires the support of our international partners, but most of all it demands the ownership and commitment of the Somali people."
