The US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on an unannounced visit.
He is the first American Secretary of State to visit the city.
In a meeting with Somalia’s president under tight security at the airport, he said: “Next time I come, we have to be able to just walk downtown”.
The US backs the Somali government in its fight against Islamist militant group al-Shabab, which still controls many rural parts of southern Somalia.