US, Somalia launch new chapter in relations

The United States has filled a diplomatic void in Somalia, swearing in its first ambassador to that country in 25 years.
Ambassador Stephen Schwartz took his oath Monday in Washington, following his Senate confirmation in May.
Schwartz, a senior Foreign Service officer who served as deputy chief of missions in Zambia, will replace James Bishop, who left more than two decades ago as the U.S. embassy came under threat.
The U.S. pulled its diplomatic presence and forces out of Somalia in 1993, after militiamen shot down a U.S. military helicopter, killing 18 soldiers.
The al-Shabab extremist group emerged out of the country’s civil chaos of that time. In recent years, the group has been ousted from Somalia’s major cities, although it has continued to launch attacks.