Portland area peace activists and Somali immigrants gathered yesterday in downtown Portland to call for an end to U.S. involvement in the war-torn nation of Somalia. <?xml:namespace prefix = o>

The rally was prompted by a series of bombings by U.S. military aircraft and submarines, the most recent of which killed twenty-five Somalis on May first. 

This bombing threatened peace talks that had been planned among warring factions.

The U.S. also bombed Somalia in March, 2008 and January, 2007, and supported an Ethiopian invasion of the country in 2006.

KBOO’s Crystal Elinski was at the rally, and spoke with some of the rally participants