The Splintering of Al Shabaab. For the better part of five years, much of Somalia's long-suffering population has been caught in a deadly stalemate between al Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked militant group, and African Union peacekeepers, known as AMISOM. The peacekeepers are tasked with defending the country's weak Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which, despite years of backing from regional powers and the West, remains politically dysfunctional and incapable doing anything resembling governing. Fielding an army of its own remains a distant aspiration. That is why quelling the insurgency has fallen entirely on AMISOM. Over the last 18 months or so the 12,000 strong force has honed its tactics and made gains, however stilting, against al Shabaab.
Insistent that no American boots hit the ground in Somalia, Washington has backed the mission. But other powers are involved in the battle now, too. To continue reading, please log in. Don't have an account? Register Register now to get three articles each month. Somalia's Starvation. The ongoing famine in Somalia has placed millions of Somalis at risk. On August 5, the U.S. government estimated that the famine had taken the lives of more than 29,000 children under the age of five. A total of 3.7 million Somalis -- almost half the country's population -- are in need of emergency relief, and more than 750,000 are now in refugee camps in neighboring countries.
For several weeks, it appeared that the international community would be unable to aid those suffering from starvation. But developments over the past two weeks offer at least modest hope that key obstacles to food aid delivery may be overcome. The conditions that led to Somalia's famine were already apparent late last year. The country had been beset by corruption, political instability, and an insurgency pitting 9,000 African Union peacekeepers, protecting a weak transitional government, against al Shabab, an Islamist group with ties to al Qaeda that controls southern Somalia.
To continue reading, please log in. How to End the Stalemate in Somalia. Since 2007, al Shabab, an al Qaeda-linked militia, has been locked in a violent stalemate with Somalia's weak and dysfunctional Transitional Federal Government (TFG). Back in 2009, it was clear that this conflict was far from inevitable: today's tragedy is a result of a series of bad policy decisions by the United States, regional actors, and the United Nations. And it has been actively sustained by external forces -- al Qaeda provided al Shabab funding and tactical expertise while the United States and other countries bolstered the TGF, fueling an unproductive conflict.
Somalis in Mogadishu have sometimes characterized the bloody saga as a "diaspora war," as both sides are at least partially proxies for foreign powers. Until this summer, al Shabab fought unsuccessfully to rout the TFG from its strongholds in the presidential palace and ports, and the TFG was unable to reliably project its authority beyond a nominal presence in some of Mogadishu's neighborhoods. Don't have an account? "Waging Peace in Somalia" by Augustin P Mahiga. Exit from comment view mode. Click to hide this space MOGADISHU – Later this week, an important high-level conference on Somalia in London, sponsored by the British government and attended by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, will present an unprecedented opportunity to take stock of – and reinvigorate – the international community’s engagement in Somalia. The meeting could not come at a better time – these are momentous days in the Horn of Africa. In early December 2011, Ban traveled to Somalia and announced that the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) would move its headquarters to Mogadishu.
There was no shortage of doubters, but I am pleased to say that my office has now relocated from Nairobi, and for the first time since 1995 a Special Representative of the Secretary-General is based in the Somali capital. This encouraging sign caps a year of remarkable progress and transition in the Somali peace process. A Handshake to Kill | The Majalla. Between You and Me As the international community unites in its concern over the increasingly global threat of Somali-based insurgent group, Al-Shabab, Ms.
Shoen explores the causes and constructs of collective violence. David Cameron, (fourth left), leads the Somalia Conference at Lancaster House in London. America has a problem. In Foreign Policy, J. Berger also raises a question over what the US government and many analysts have described as a weakening Al-Qaeda. One could dwell on the endless scenarios that this merger could generate, but what is especially troubling is the 10 plus years that have passed with little sign of success in America’s war against Al-Qaeda. The complexities surrounding the failure of democratic governments—with all their military knowhow, resources and technological advancements—to provide security in their own countries, has prompted me to revisit the psychology behind collective ideological violence, particularly as it relates to civilian targets.
Negotiating an End to Somalia's War with al Shabaab. In August 2011, after three years of fighting, forces backing the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) took control of the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Although this was a welcome development, it was a short-term tactical gain. The strategy that the government and international community are now employing to stabilize Somalia neglects reconciliation with the rebels and relies too much on external military muscle. Further, aside from the efforts of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), military involvement in Somalia has been counterproductive. The Somali government and its backers should instead focus on establishing a competent security sector and starting genuine negotiations with those rebels who are interested in a political solution -- and there are some. It has long been known that some senior figures of al Shabaab (the al Qaeda-linked militant group that controls most of southern Somalia) would consider negotiating with the government.
Don't have an account? Don’t force statehood on Somalia by Richard Dowden. President of Somalia Addresses General Assembly The model for Somalia is Switzerland. Don’t laugh! Political power in Switzerland lies in the cantons – the 26 proud self-governing communities. The state, such as it is, deals with international matters and national law. Who cares – or even knows – who the president of Switzerland is. Somalis – unlike the Swiss but like most Africans – are stuck with a constitution that leaves total power in the hands of a president.
The odd factor is that Somalia is one of only two sub-Saharan African states made up of a single ethnic group. “Every man his own Sultan” is how one Ugandan visitor described the Somalis in the mid 19th century. Traditionally disputes between Somalis were sorted out by the clan elders who would arrange compensation payments after clan or family battles or theft. Somalia’s civil war began in the 1980s between clans in a winner takes all battle for total national power. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on the Famine in Somalia. East Africa and the Horn of Africa are experiencing a devastating drought -- the worst in 60 years. This emergency presents both a challenge and an opportunity. The United Nations estimates that 750,000 people in Somalia alone could die without assistance. Providing that aid is an opportunity to usher in a new day in Somalia, thus alleviating one of East Africa's most enduring problems. Africa could be opening a new chapter.
The economies of many African countries are growing, and investor interest in the continent is rising all the time. Many countries have implemented economic and political reforms to enhance openness and transparency. Just a few months ago, the continent successfully witnessed the creation of a new country, South Sudan. The same intense effort is now needed in Somalia. To continue reading, please log in. Don't have an account? Register Register now to get three articles each month. As a subscriber, you get unrestricted access to ForeignAffairs.com. Have an account? Somalia and the Future of Humanitarian Intervention. The American-led operation in Somalia that began when U.S. Marines hit the Mogadishu beaches in December 1992 continues to profoundly affect the debate over humanitarian intervention.
The Clinton administration's refusal to respond to the genocide in Rwanda that began in April 1994 was due in part to its retreat from Somalia, announced after the deaths of 18 U.S. Army Rangers on October 3-4, 1993. In Bosnia, U.N. peacekeepers under fire from or taken prisoner by Serb forces over the last two years were expected to turn the other cheek for fear of "crossing the Mogadishu line. " The doctrines of both the United States and the United Nations were also clearly affected. While Somalia should be an important precedent for international intervention in the post--Cold War world, it is not clear the right lessons have been learned. To continue reading, please log in. Don't have an account? Register Register now to get three articles each month. Register for free to continue reading. Ghaith Abdul-Ahad · Diary: In Somalia · LRB 3 November 2011. After three years of drought thousands of colourful tents made with sticks and branches wrapped in plastic sheets and bits of cloth have sprung up among Mogadishu’s destroyed buildings.
Over the summer and early autumn tens of thousands of starving Somalis entered the city. Now the refugees fill the shells of long-defunct ministries, gather in the shade of the roofless cathedral and stand under the parliament building like worshippers seeking a miracle. They appear in the streets in tattered clothing, holding bundles on their oversized heads, carrying yellow jerrycans and babies on their backs. Inside the Ministry of Health, Fatima was building her tent, tying sticks together with strips of fabric, then wrapping larger pieces of cloth around them: a torn sarong, a plastic sheet, a fragment from an orange headscarf. Fatima left her village in the south of Somalia, near Kismayo, when the rains failed for the third time. Tribesmen poured into the city and Siad Barre’s state collapsed. We're Winning This Fight - By Abdiweli Mohamed Ali.
MOGADISHU, Somalia – I was at the National Theater in Mogadishu yesterday, and witnessed the despicable terrorist attack by a suicide bomber in which more than six people were killed -- including two of the country's dearest sporting heroes. Seeing first-hand the appalling loss of life and harm done to my countrymen was a savage reminder of what is at stake in Somalia. On the one hand, we have an internationally recognized government, one that is growing in strength and steering the country through the last four months of transition towards a new constitution, a new parliament, and presidential elections; on the other, we still face a nihilistic terrorist group, influenced by foreign ideologies, that delights in killing Somalis and has nothing positive to offer.
Although violence has become tragically endemic in Somalia in recent years, it doesn't have to be like this. Conflict is not inevitable here. Seven months later, Mogadishu is a city transformed. Saving Somalia - By Laura Heaton. MOGADISHU, Somalia — For the United Nations, the war-torn Somali capital is one of the ultimate "hardship posts. " The U.N.'s few foreign employees based there are entitled to lucrative hazard stipends in exchange for living in one of the world's most dangerous cities. But for Turkish aid worker Orhan Erdogan, it is his family's home base.
Erdogan, a 45-year old veteran of crisis zones such as Darfur, moved from Istanbul to Mogadishu last August as the aid group he works for, Kimse Yok Mu, ramped up its efforts in response to the severe famine in the Horn of Africa. His four teenage children are now in school in neighboring Kenya, but Erdogan and his wife live together in Mogadishu. "My family lives here to share the reality with me," Erdogan said. Erdogan is far from alone. The influx of Turkish aid workers has corresponded with a fresh interest by the Ankara government in Somali affairs. Remarkably, there have been no reports of Turkish nationals being killed or kidnapped in Somalia.
A tale of two Mogadishus. In media, timing is key to breaking news and getting recognized for original journalism. But it can also sting you, as Vogue and Condé Nast Traveler learned during the Arab Spring after publishing, respectively, a glowing profile of Syrian first lady Asma al-Assad and a list of the "15 Best Places to See Right Now" that included Libya. Today, the New York Times fell victim to the timing trap. The paper led its print edition with a story by Jeffrey Gettleman entitled "A Taste of Hope in Somalia's Battered Capital," only for a suicide bomber to attack a gathering of Somali officials this morning in Mogadishu's National Theater, killing the heads of Somalia's Olympic committee and soccer federation, among others.
Gettleman had even mentioned the National Theater in his piece (key lines in bold): Outside, on Mogadishu's streets, the thwat-thwat-thwat hammering sound that rings out in the mornings is not the clatter of machine guns but the sound of actual hammers. Guess who else got their hands on some Libyan weapons? Christian Caryl wrote yesterday on the possibility that the collapse of Muammar al-Qaddafi's regime in Libya -- and the flood of suddenly available weaponry that resulted -- may be at the root of Mali's current crisis.
Not surprisingly, as Reuters reports today, the Tuareg rebels may not be the only armed group in North Africa that has come into a post-Qaddafi weapons windfall: "We found that Libyan weapons are being sold in what is the world's biggest black market for illegal gun smugglers, and Somali pirates are among those buying from sellers in Sierra Leone, Liberia and other countries," said Judith van der Merwe, of the Algiers-based African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism. "We believe our information is credible and know that some of the pirates have acquired ship mines, as well as Stinger and other shoulder-held missile launchers," Van der Merwe told Reuters on the sidelines of an Indian Ocean naval conference. [...]
MOHAMED DAHIR/AFP/Getty Images. The World Factbook. ShowIntroduction :: SOMALIA Panel - Collapsed Britain withdrew from British Somaliland in 1960 to allow its protectorate to join with Italian Somaliland and form the new nation of Somalia. In 1969, a coup headed by Mohamed SIAD Barre ushered in an authoritarian socialist rule characterized by the persecution, jailing, and torture of political opponents and dissidents. After the regime's collapse early in 1991, Somalia descended into turmoil, factional fighting, and anarchy.
In May 1991, northern clans declared an independent Republic of Somaliland that now includes the administrative regions of Awdal, Woqooyi Galbeed, Togdheer, Sanaag, and Sool. Although not recognized by any government, this entity has maintained a stable existence and continues efforts to establish a constitutional democracy, including holding municipal, parliamentary, and presidential elections. Somalia.