The government appointed a Shabaab sympathizer as envoy to the US. Shabaab reportedly sent 2,000 fighters with armored vehicles to the central town of Dhusamareb, where the pro-government militia Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama™a has imposed a curfew. At least 16 people were killed in clashes between rival clans in central Somalia. Pirates hijacked an Indian trade boat as it left Mogadishu port.
