Photo Gallery Mogadishu, a City of Warlords
Two soldiers overlook Mogadishu's destroyed harbor district. The capital of Mogadishu has been rocked by violence for many years, the result of fighting from various sides, including local clans. Recently, attacks have become more frequent, with Islamist militia al-Shabaab ramping up a new offensive.
Manar Moalin grew up in Italy and studied in London before returning to Somalia to open the city's first country club. The club has become a meeting point for government officials and businessmen, but was recently the target of a deadly terror attack that killed 16 guests. Moalin claims that she does not pay protection money.
A woman in the street in Mogadishu. Somalia has been riven by war for decades. For 27 years, no government has had control over the entire country. Over 4,200 people have died on account of al-Shabaab, a group that is allied with al-Qaida, in the last year alone.
The entrance to Moalin's country club. In her first year in Mogadishu, Moalin says she was threatened, denounced and robbed, and had a gun barrel pointed at her forehead more than once.
Guests in the country club. Moalin's brother has come to Mogadishu to try to convince her to come back to Dubai, but she refuses. She doesn't want to be driven out of the city by fear.
