Minn. Somalis plan protest as money transfers end

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Somalis plan a demonstration Friday on the day a bank plans to stop allowing money transfers from Minnesota's Somali community to relatives in the famine-stricken country.

The demonstration is planned for around 2 p.m. at Franklin and Chicago in south Minneapolis.

Sunrise Community Banks handles the majority of money transfers from Minnesota to Somalia. The bank agreed to continue allowing funds to flow into the African country until Dec. 30 but has said it will not extend the practice.

Sunrise says it fears it could be at risk of violating government rules intended to clamp down on the financing of terror groups. Somalis in Minnesota say their loved ones might not survive without the monthly remittances they send back home through the money transfer businesses, known as hawalas.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)