African Union

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**FILE** U.S. envoy Chris Stevens (center), accompanied by British envoy Christopher Prentice (left), speaks April 11, 2011, to Council member for Misrata Dr. Suleiman Fortia (right) at the Tibesty Hotel where an African Union delegation was meeting with opposition leaders in Benghazi, Libya. (Associated Press)

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The helmet of Kenyan soldier Nicholas Munyanya reads in Kiswahili "Tea in Kismayo," no doubt hoping for respite in the strategic Somali port city that African Union troops hope to wrest from the control of al-Shabab terrorists by late August. (Associated Press)

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In the year since African Union and Somali troops pushed Islamist militants out of the capital of Mogadishu, Somali children are free to ride their bicycles in the streets of the seaside capital, and people can enjoy the beaches, go out to dinner and dance at weddings. "The city is returning to normal now," said banker Liban Abdi Igal, who was recently living in Maryland. "I have returned here with optimism after seeing progress and revival." (Associated Press)

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On adjoining screens, Maj. Gen. Fred Mugisha (right), the commander of African Union forces in Somalia, speaks on a video teleconference from Mogadishu with Col. Cyrus Oguna of the Kenyan military in Nairobi. (Associated Press)

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A displaced Somali woman walks past an armored vehicle of an African Union peacekeeping force that was transporting journalists in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

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Civilians flee from a part of Mogadishu where al-Shabab is digging trenches and African Union forces are moving in. (Associated Press)

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Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi greets supporters in Tripoli on Sunday as envoys from the African Union, including South African President Jacob Zuma, arrived for two days of talks with Col. Gadhafi and rebel leaders. The African Union repeated its call for a cease-fire. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** One of the 1,800 Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) soldiers being sent to the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia participates in a Dec. 21 drill at Singo Military training camp, about 100 kilometers north of Kampala. (Associated Press)

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Islamist insurgent fighters take positions during clashes with Somali government soldiers and African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu's Hodon neighborhood. The way Somali rebels fight and intimidate people purposely mimics some of the tactics used by the Taliban in Afghanistan. (Associated Press)

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A medical assistant at Madina Hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia, tends to a child who was injured by a mortar shell during clashes between Somali insurgents and African Union troops on Monday, Aug. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

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A man carries his 5-month-old wounded son at Medina hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia, after he was injured in a mortar shell between Somali insurgents and African Union troops, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Monday, Aug 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor)

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A wounded man is assisted into Mogadishu's Madina hospital after he was wounded by a mortar shell during fighting between Somali insurgents and African Union troops, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Monday, Aug 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

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African Union peacekeepers in Somalia patrol in a tank as they assists government forces during clashes with Islamist insurgents in southern Mogadishu, Somalia, on Monday, Aug. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

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Somalis carry a wounded boy after he was injured by a mortar shell Monday, Aug. 16, 2010, after Islamist militants and government forces backed by African Union peacekeepers clashed in Mogadishu, officials said Monday. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

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Somalis carry a wounded boy after he was wounded by a mortar shell, after Islamist militants and government forces backed by African Union peacekeepers clashed in Mogadishu, officials said Monday, Aug.16, 2010. (AP Photo / Mohamed Sheikh Nor)

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A father carries his son into Medina hospital, Mogadishu, Somalia, Monday, Aug.16, 2010, after he was wounded by mortar shrapnel during clashes between Somali insurgents and African Union troops. (AP Photo/ Farah Abdi Warsameh)

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Medical personal in Mogadishu's Madina hospital treat a woman wounded by a mortar shell during clashes between Islamist militants and government forces backed by African Union peacekeepers clashed in Mogadishu, Somalia, Monday, Aug.16, 2010. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

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Demonstrators against the African Union peacekeeping force shout slogans during a protest this month in Mogadishu, Somalia, that was organized by al-Shabaab. The militant group battles African Union and government forces in the streets of the capital daily, in an effort to topple Somalia's weak, U.N.-backed administration. (Associated Press)