In September,a power struggle erupted in violence in the lower Juba region between al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam, a clan-based Islamist-nationalist group which had been al-Shabab's main ally in its year-long battle to overthrow the U.N.-backed government in Mogadishu.
VOA: standard.2010.01.02
North Korea's latest nuclear test in February its third has led even China, its only major ally, to support another round of punishing U.N.
Russia has been Assad's staunch ally, supplying Damascus with weapons, shielding the regime from tougher U.N. sanctions and supporting Assad in his resolve to remain in power.