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Short Overview of Somalia.

Once known as the land of punt ( land of the god)

In 19th century, British and Italians took control over the parts of the coasts, started

calling it the British and Italian Somali land.

The Interior was controlled by Mohammad Abdullah Hassans Dervish State, who was

later defeated by British air power in 1920.

1960 saw the union of northern and southern Somali regions and gain of independence

In 1969, Mohammad Said Barre, the major general coup dtat and established his

power.

In 1991, Barres government collapsed and hence Civil war broke out.

Reasons for the rise of conflict.

Barre reduced political freedoms and used military force to seize and redistribute rich

farmlands during his regime.

During the Somalia Ethiopia conflict, Barre regime violently suppressed opposition

movements and ethnic groups, particularly the Isaaq clan in the northern region, using

the military and elite security forces to quash any hint of rebellion.

In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre regime, the Somali

National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa

with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre regime.

In January 1989, the United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group of Somalis from

the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome.

A military wing of the USC was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of

Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a former political prisoner imprisoned by Barre from 1969-

75.

By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre's government, fully operational in

the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions.

In January 1991, armed opposition factions drove Barre out of power, resulting in the

complete collapse of the central government.

The Civil war.

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In January 1991, President Ali Mahdi Muhammad was selected by the manifesto

group as an interim state president.

However, United Somali Congress military leader General Mohamed Farrah

Aideed, the Somali National Movement leader Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur and

the Somali Patriotic Movement leader Col Jess refused to recognize Mahdi as

president.

The Somali National Movement (SNM) gained control of the north, while in the capital ofMogadishu and most of southern Somalia, the United Somali Congress achieved control.

Subsequent fighting among rival faction leaders resulted in the killing, dislocation, and starvation ofthousands of Somalis and led the United Nations to intervene militarily in 1992.

In March and June 1993, six clans from northern and central Somalia sided with

Aideed, adopting the traditional Somali political system known as the Xeer

(pronounced "hair"). In a bloody civil war with devastation on all sides.

In the late 1990s, relative calm began to emerge and economic development acceleratedsomewhat.

The country was by no means stable, but it was improving.

This Transitional Federal Government (TFG) emerged in 2000, but soon lost power. Somalilandand Puntland, 2 regions in the north broke away from the country and set up regional, semi-

autonomous governments.

In May 2006, heavy fighting broke out in Mogadishu between the non TFG-affiliated SupremeIslamic Courts Union (ICU) and TFG warlords.

Since civil war broke out in the early '90s, approximately 500,000 people havedied in Somalia.

Statistics

Doctors per 100,000 people 4 (UNDP 2006)

Children attending primary school Boys 13%, Girls 11% (UNICEF,2005)

Population with access to safe water 29% (UNDP 2006)

Under-five mortality rate 225 per 1,000 (UNDP, 2005)

Life expectancy 47 years (UNICEF, 2005)

Adult Literacy 19% (UNDP, 2002)

International Intervention.

Consequences of civil war in Somia.

What now

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CONFLICT RESOLUTION:

While there have been attempts at reconciliation and reunification, Somalia remains divided,

which has made resolving the conflict difficult based solely on the sheer number of states,

groups and militaries involved.

The most recent sustained period of violence has occurred between a few core groups: the

Sharia-law oriented Islamic Courts Union (ICU) which took control of the capital, Mogadishu in

2006; the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT), which is a group

of secular warlords formed in 2006; and the TNG, which is backed by the government and the

military of Ethiopia, adding yet another international player into this conflict. Not only does the

number and nature of parties currently involved in the situation make conflict resolution

difficult, it also makes the mere act of following it as an interested outsider a challenge.

with so many domestic and international groups involved, communication is of vital importance.

Recently Somalian leaders have asked that the UN give them more information about the UNpeacekeepers being deployed in the region and have stated that the civilian population must

accept the force before it arrives.

While international assistance can obviously be helpful in ending conflicts and providing

humanitarian aid, Ethiopia's involvement has caused tension between domestic groups inside

Somalia.

In addition to main conflict itself, extraneous violence spawned by the chaos must be addressed

All in all, any strategy aimed at bringing this conflict to a close must be holistic and far-reaching,

addressing both the humanitarian and political causes and effects of years of anarchy,factionalism and bloodshed.

Now, as new fighting has broken out in Mogadishu, it becomes even more necessary for the

international community to take a closer look at the conflict in Somalia and consider new and

inventive techniques which might be used to bring this decades-long fighting to a peaceful close.