MAIN DEVELOPMENTS IN SEPTEMBER
Political events during September and military operations in the South continued to cause security concerns. However, generally the situation in Somalia proved calmer than previously expected.
Presidential Elections were held on 10 September, resulting in the appointment of Professor Hassan Sheik Mohamoud as the new President of Somalia. The country's main international partners have welcomed the outcome of the elections, espe-cially as diplomatic relations will continue mainly as before. The elections took place without incident although an attempted attack on the new president by Al Shabaab (AS) on 12 September mired the initial days of his presidency.
Throughout the whole month civilians fled the area of Kismayo, with numbers reaching 10,000 by 21 September. In response to the military offensive on Kismayo by the allied forces on 29 Sept, AS reportedly left the town, and providing relatively little resistance.
The end of September saw a tragic wave of journalist killings in Mogadishu – in total, seven media personnel were killed in this period.