Somalia

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somalia
Anthem: Soomaaliyeey Toosoow Somalia, Wake Up
Capital (and largest city)		Mogadishu 2°02′N 45°21′E
Official languages		Somali1, Arabic3
Government		Transitional Federal Government
-	President	Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed
-	Prime Minister	Ali Mohammed Ghedi
Independence		from the UK and Italy
-	Date	July 1 1960
Area
-	Total	637,661 km² (42nd) 246,201 sq mi
-	Water (%)	1.6
Population
-	2003 estimate	10,700,0002 (74th)
-	1987 census	7,114,431
GDP (PPP)		2006 estimate
-	Total	$5.023 billion (160th)
-	Per capita	$600 (not ranked)
Currency		Somali shilling (SOS)
Time zone		EAT (UTC+3)
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+3)
Internet TLD		.so (currently non-operational)
Calling code		+252
1	CIA Factbook
2	BBC News country profile
3	Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic

Somalia, officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is located on the Horn of Africa in East Africa. Its strategic location—along the southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and the route through the Red Sea and Suez Canal and near the oilfields of the Middle East—made it the focus of contention during the Cold War, with both the Soviet Union and then the United States pouring in weapons to keep their influence, weapons that later fell into the hands of clan warlords when the regime fell.

The Somali state currently exists largely in a de jure capacity; Somalia has a weak but largely recognized central government authority , the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), that currently controls only the central region of Somalia. In the north, de facto authority resides in the hands of the governments for the (unrecognized) entities of Somaliland, Maakhir, Galmudug, and Puntland. In the south and the Galgadud region, no government exists at all, and various tribal militias battle for dominance. Violence has plagued Mogadishu, the capital, since warlords ousted former President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

While many states acknowledge the authority of the TFG (Puntland, Galmudug, Maakhir) and maintain their declaration of autonomy within a federated Somalia, Somaliland maintains its declaration of independence and does not recognize the TFG as its governing authority.

Geography

Africa's easternmost country, Somalia has a land area of 637,540 square kilometers, slightly less than that of the state of Texas. Somalia occupies the tip of a region commonly referred to as the Horn of Africa—because of its resemblance on the map to a rhinoceros's horn—that also includes Ethiopia and Djibouti. It is located between the Gulf of Aden on the north and Indian Ocean on the east. and borders Djibouti on the northwest, Ethiopia on the west, and Kenya to the southwest. Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa. Its location along the southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and the route through the Red Sea and Suez Canal makes it strategically important.

Natural disasters

Somalia was one of the many countries affected by the tsunami which struck the Indian Ocean coast following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, destroying entire villages and killing an estimated 300 people.

In 2006, Somalia was deluged by torrential rains and flooding that struck the entire Horn of Africa, affecting 350,000 people.

Somalia's terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains, and highlands. In the far north, however, the rugged east-west ranges of the Karkaar Mountains lie at varying distances from the Gulf of Aden coast. The weather is hot throughout the year, except at the higher elevations in the north. Rainfall is sparse, and most of Somalia has a semiarid to arid environment suitable only for the nomadic pastoralism practiced by well over half the population. Only in limited areas of moderate rainfall in the northwest, and particularly in the southwest, where the country's two perennial rivers are found, is agriculture practiced to any extent.

The local geology suggests the presence of valuable mineral deposits. Somalia's long coastline (3,025 kilometers) has been of importance chiefly in permitting trade with the Middle East and the rest of East Africa.

Climate

Major climatic factors are a year-round hot climate, seasonal monsoon winds, and irregular rainfall with recurring droughts. Mean daily maximum temperatures range from 85–105°F (30°C to 40°C), except at higher elevations and along the east coast. Mean daily minimums usually vary from about 60–85°F (15°C to 30°C). The southwest monsoon, a sea breeze, makes the period from about May to October the mildest season at Mogadishu. The December-February period of the northeast monsoon is also relatively mild, although prevailing climatic conditions in Mogadishu are rarely pleasant. The "tangambili" periods that intervene between the two monsoons (October–November and March–May) are hot and humid. Temperatures in the south are less extreme. Coastal readings are usually five to ten degrees cooler than those inland. The coastal zone's relative humidity usually remains about 70 percent even during the dry seasons.

Climate is the primary factor in much of Somali life. For the large nomadic population, the timing and amount of rainfall are crucial determinants of the adequacy of grazing and the prospects of relative prosperity. There are some indications that the climate has become drier in the last century and that the increase in the number of people and animals has put a growing burden on water and vegetation.

Somalis recognize four seasons, two rainy (gu and day) and two dry (jiilaal and hagaa). The gu rains begin in April and last until June, producing a fresh supply of pasture and for a brief period turning the desert into a flowering garden. Lush vegetation covers most of the land, especially the central grazing plateau where grass grows tall. Milk and meat abound, water is plentiful, and animals do not require much care. The gu season is followed by the hagaa drought (July-September) and the hagaa by the day rains (October-November). Next is jiilaal (December-March), the harshest season for pastoralists and their herds.

Most of the country receives less than 500 millimeters of rain annually, and a large area encompassing the northeast and much of northern Somalia receives as little as 50 to 150 millimeters. Certain higher areas in the north, however, record more than 500 millimeters a year, as do some coastal sites. The southwest receives 330 to 500 millimeters. Generally, rainfall takes the form of showers or localized torrential rains and is extremely variable.

Terrain, Vegetation, and Drainage

Satellite image of Somalia, generated from raster graphics data supplied by The Map Library

Topography of Somalia

Physiographically, Somalia is a land of limited contrast. In the north, a maritime plain parallels the Gulf of Aden coast, varying in width from roughly twelve kilometers in the west to as little as two kilometers in the east. Scrub-covered, semiarid, and generally drab, this plain, known as the Guban (scrub land), is crossed by broad, shallow watercourses that are beds of dry sand except in the rainy seasons. When the rains arrive, the vegetation, which is a combination of low bushes and grass clumps, is quickly renewed, and for a time the guban provides some grazing for nomad livestock.

Inland from the gulf coast, the plain rises to the precipitous northward-facing cliffs of the dissected highlands. These form the rugged Karkaar mountain ranges that extend from the northwestern border with Ethiopia eastward to the tip of the Horn of Africa, where they end in sheer cliffs at Caseyr. The general elevation along the crest of these mountains averages about 1,800 meters above sea level south of the port town of Berbera, and eastward from that area it continues at 1,800 to 2,100 meters almost to Caseyr. The country's highest point, Shimber Berris, which rises to 2,407 meters, is located near the town of Erigavo.

Southward the mountains descend, often in scarped ledges, to an elevated plateau devoid of perennial rivers. This region of broken mountain terrain, shallow plateau valleys, and usually dry watercourses is known to the Somalis as the Ogo.

In the Ogo's especially arid eastern part, the plateau—broken by several isolated mountain ranges—gradually slopes toward the Indian Ocean and in central Somalia constitutes the Mudug Plain. A major feature of this eastern section is the long and broad Nugaal Valley, with its extensive network of intermittent seasonal watercourses. The eastern area's population consists mainly of pastoral nomads. In a zone of low and erratic rainfall.

The western part of the Ogo plateau region is crossed by numerous shallow valleys and dry watercourses. Annual rainfall is greater than in the east, and there are flat areas of arable land that provide a home for dryland cultivators. Most important, the western area has permanent wells to which the predominantly nomadic population returns during the dry seasons. The western plateau slopes gently southward and merges imperceptibly into an area known as the Haud, a broad, undulating terrain that constitutes some of the best grazing lands for Somali nomads, despite the lack of appreciable rainfall more than half the year. Enhancing the value of the Haud are the natural depressions that during periods of rain become temporary lakes and ponds.

The Haud zone continues for more than sixty kilometers into Ethiopia, and the vast Somali Plateau, which lies between the northern Somali mountains and the highlands of southeast Ethiopia, extends south and eastward through Ethiopia into central and southwest Somalia. The portion of the Haud lying within Ethiopia was the subject of an agreement made during the colonial era permitting nomads from British Somaliland to pasture their herds there. After Somali independence in 1960, it became the subject of Somali claims and a source of considerable regional strife.

Southwestern Somalia is dominated by the country's only two permanent rivers, the Jubba and the Shabele. With their sources in the Ethiopian highlands, these rivers flow in a generally southerly direction, cutting wide valleys in the Somali Plateau as it descends toward the sea; the plateau's elevation falls off rapidly in this area. The adjacent coastal zone, which includes the lower reaches of the rivers and extends from the Mudug Plain to the Kenyan border, averages 180 meters above sea level.

The Jubba River enters the Indian Ocean at Kismaayo. Although the Shabeelle River at one time apparently also reached the sea near Merca, its course is thought to have changed in prehistoric times. The Shabeelle now turns southwestward near Balcad (about thirty kilometers north of Mogadishu) and parallels the coast for more than eighty-five kilometers. The river is perennial only to a point southwest of Mogadishu; thereafter it consists of swampy areas and dry reaches and is finally lost in the sand east of Jilib, not far from the Jubba River. During the flood seasons, the Shabeelle River may fill its bed to a point near Jilib and occasionally may even break through to the Jubba River farther south. Favorable rainfall and soil conditions make the entire riverine region a fertile agricultural area and the center of the country's largest sedentary population.

In most of northern, northeastern, and north-central Somalia, where rainfall is low, the vegetation consists of scattered low trees, including various acacias, and widely scattered patches of grass. This vegetation gives way to a combination of low bushes and grass clumps in the highly arid areas of the northeast and along the Gulf of Aden.

As elevations and rainfall increase in the maritime ranges of the north, the vegetation becomes denser. Aloes are common, and on the higher plateau areas of the Ogo are woodlands. At a few places above 1,500 meters, the remnants of juniper forests (protected by the state) and areas of candelabra euphorbia (a chandelier-type spiny plant) occur. In the more arid highlands of the northeast, Boswellia and Commiphora trees are sources, respectively, of the frankincense and myrrh for which Somalia has been known since ancient times.

File:Naasa Hablood2.jpg

Hargeisa and much of the de facto republic of Somaliland is desert or hilly terrain. Here the Naasa Hablood hills are shown.

A broad plateau encompassing the northern city of Hargeysa, which receives comparatively heavy rainfall, is covered naturally by woodland (much of which has been degraded by overgrazing) and in places by extensive grasslands. Parts of this area have been under cultivation since the 1930s, producing sorghum and maize; in the 1990s it constituted the only significant region of sedentary cultivation outside southwestern Somalia.

The Haud south of Hargeysa is covered mostly by a semiarid woodland of scattered trees, mainly acacias, underlain by grasses that include species especially favored by livestock as forage. As the Haud merges into the Mudug Plain in central Somalia, the aridity increases and the vegetation takes on a subdesert character. Farther southward the terrain gradually changes to semiarid woodlands and grasslands as the annual precipitation increases.

The region encompassing the Shabeelle and Jubba rivers is relatively well watered and constitutes the country's most arable zone. The lowland between the rivers supports rich pasturage. It features arid to subarid savanna, open woodland, and thickets that include frequently abundant underlying grasses. There are areas of grassland, and in the far southwest, near the Kenyan border, some dry evergreen forests are found.

Along the Indian Ocean from Mereeg, about 150 kilometers northeast of Mogadishu, southwestward to near Kismaayo lies a stretch of coastal sand dunes. This area is covered with scattered scrub and grass clumps where rainfall is sufficient. Overgrazing, particularly in the area between Mogadishu and Kismaayo, has resulted in the destruction of the protective vegetation cover and the gradual movement of the once-stationary dunes inland. Beginning in the early 1970s, efforts were made to stabilize these dunes by replanting.

Other vegetation includes plants and grasses found in the swamps into which the Shabeelle River empties most of the year and in other large swamps in the course of the lower Jubba River. Mangrove forests are found at points along the coast, particularly from Kismaayo to near the Kenyan border. Uncontrolled exploitation appears to have caused some damage to forests in that area. Other mangrove forests are located near Mogadishu and at a number of places along the northeastern and northern coasts.

Natural resources: uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt

Natural hazards: recurring droughts; frequent dust storms over eastern plains in summer; floods during rainy season

Environment - current issues: famine; use of contaminated water contributes to human health problems; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

History

Somalia has been continuously inhabited by numerous and varied ethnic groups, some of Oromo or other Cushitic ancestry, but the majority were Somalis, for the last 2,500 years. From the 1st century numerous ports, like ancient Opone (now Hafun) and ancient Mosylon-Bandar Gori, were trading with Roman and Greek sailors. The northwestern part of current Somalia was part of the Kingdom of Aksum from about the third century to the seventh.

By the early medieval period (700 C.E.–1200 C.E.), Islam became firmly established, especially with the founding of Mogadishu in 900. The late medieval period (1201-1500) saw the rise of numerous Somali city-states and kingdoms. In northwestern Somalia, the Sultanate of Adal (a multi-ethnic state comprised of Afars, Somalis, and Hararis) with Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi as their leader in 1520 successfully led a campaign which saw three-quarters of Ethiopia coming under Adal rule before being defeated by a joint Ethiopian-Portuguese force at the Battle of Wayna Daga on February 21, 1543.

The Ajuuraan Sultanate flourished in the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. Following the collapse of Adal and Ajuuraan in the early and late seventeenth century, current-day Somalia saw the growth and gradual rise of many successor city states, such as the Sultanates of eastern Sanaag, of Bari, and of Hobyo. However due to competing Somali clans that lived in the region for thousands of years, until 1960, when Italy and Britain combined their Somali colonies into a single Somali state, Somalia was not a country. After the British and Italians drew boundaries and lines, and then after the independence of all previously self-governing Somali clans, it gradually became a new united nation of Somalia in the 1960s.

The country is made of various competing clans and sub-clans, which has made unity very difficult, as is also the case presently. Due to the forced alleged acceptance of a Somalia state, since the post colonization era, the historically self-governing clans in the north have currently (unofficially) separated from Somalia after voting for independence of the Somaliland nation. President Aden Abdullah Osman, who is seen as the founding father of the Somalia state, was the first president after its creation in 1960.

Colonial period

The year 1884 ended a long period of comparative peace. At the Berlin Conference of 1884, the scramble for Africa started the long and bloody process of the imperial partition of Somali lands. The French, British and Italians came to Somalia in the late nineteenth century.

The British claimed British Somaliland as a protectorate in 1886 after the withdrawal of Egypt and the treaty with the Warsangali clan. Egypt sought to prevent European colonial expansion in Northeast Africa. The southern area, claimed by Italy in 1889, became known as Italian Somaliland. The northernmost stretch became part of the French Territory of Afars and Issas, also known as French Somaliland, until it later achieved independence as Djibouti.

Mohammed Abdullah Hassan (Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan, Sayyid) (born April 7, 1864, in the north of Somalia, died December 21, 1920 in Imi, Ethiopia) was Somalia's religious and nationalist leader (called the "Mad Mullah" by the British) who for 20 years led armed resistance to the British, Italian, and Ethiopian forces in Somalia.

World War II

File:SYL-Freedom.jpg

Somali Youth League Monument

Fascist Italy, under the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini, tried to pursue its colonialist expansion policy and attacked Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) in 1935. The invasion was condemned by the League of Nations, but little was done to stop Italian military and industrial build-up. Abyssinia was occupied, and the government of Emperor Haile Selassie I was exiled to the UK. In England, the Emperor appealed to the international community. Little was done to liberate occupied Ethiopia. Britain would regret the failure of it and its allies to impose sanctions on Italy.

In August 1940, Italian troops crossed the Ethiopian border and invaded British Somalia to take the colony from the United Kingdom. The invasion was launched on August 3, and concluded with the taking of Berbera on August 14.

The British launched a campaign in January 1942 from Kenya to liberate Italian Somaliland, British Somaliland and Italian-occupied Ethiopia, again with many Somalis being incorporated to fight a war led by foreigners. By February, most of Italian Somaliland was captured. In March, British Somaliland was retaken by a sea invasion.

In 1949 the U.N. gave Somalia as a protectorate to Italy until it achieved independence in 1960. The Ogaden province of Somalia was given to the now repatriated Ethiopian government by the British Empire. The United Kingdom kept British Somaliland (now Somaliland or northern Somalia) under its colonial rule. The French too kept Djibouti under colonial administration, and Djibouti would not gain independence until 1977. Though Somalis and other Africans fought hard on the Allied side in World War II, they were re-subjugated soon after the conflict. The bitterness of lost hope strengthened the long struggle against colonialism, and in most parts of Africa, including Somalia, independence movements and liberation struggles occurred.

1960s–1990s

The independence of the British Somaliland Protectorate from the United Kingdom was proclaimed on 26 June 1960. On 1 July 1960, unification of the British and ex-Italian Somaliland took place. The government was formed by Abdullahi Issa. Aden Abdullah Osman Daar was appointed as President and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as Prime Minister. Later, in 1967, Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal became Prime Minister in the government appointed by Abdirishid Ali Shermarke. Egal was later chosen as President of the self-declared independent Somaliland.

In late 1969, a military government assumed power following the assassination of Shermarke, who had been chosen, and served as, president from 1967–1969. Mohamed Siad Barre, a General in the armed forces, and General Jama Korshel in the police forces led the Coup d'état after the assassination. Barre became the President in 1969 and Korshel the vice president following a coup d'état. The revolutionary army leaders, headed by Siad Barre, established large-scale public works programs. They also successfully implemented an urban and rural literacy campaign, in which they helped to dramatically increase the literacy rate from a mere 5% to 55% by the mid-1980s. In the meantime, Barre assassinated a major figure in his cabinet, Major General Gabiere, and two other officials.

Fakr ad-Din mosque

Between 1977 and 1978, Somalia fought with its neighbor Ethiopia in the Ogaden War. The goal of Somali nationalism was to liberate and unite the Somali lands divided and subjugated under colonialism. The Somali state engaged its neighbors Kenya and Ethiopia diplomatically, hoping to win the right of self-determination for ethnic Somalis in those countries. However, Somalis were being expelled from Ogaden province, and Somalia, already preparing for war since the failure of diplomacy, supported the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF, then called Western Somali Liberation Front, WSLF). Eventually, Somalia sought to capture Ogaden province, and acted unilaterally without consulting the international community, which was generally opposed to redrawing colonial boundaries. Somalia's communist allies, the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, refused to help Somalia, and instead, backed Ethiopia. For most of the war, Somalia appeared to be winning, and in fact, retook most of Ogaden province. With Somali forces at the gates of Addis Ababa, Soviet and Cuban forces and weapons came to the aid of Ethiopia. The Somali Army was decimated and, soon, defeated. During the Soviet and Cuban intervention, Somalia sought the help of the United States. The Carter Administration originally expressed interest in helping Somalia and then later declined. American allies in the Middle East and Asia also refused to assist Somalia. The Americans perhaps did not want to engage the Soviets in this period of détente.

In 1978, the moral authority of the Somali government collapsed with many Somalis becoming disillusioned with life under military dictatorship. The regime in the 1980s weakened as the Cold War drew to a close and Somalia's strategic importance was diminished. The government became increasingly totalitarian, and resistance movements, encouraged by Ethiopia for its own strategic interests, sprang up across the country, eventually leading to civil war in 1991.

In 1991, first insurgent forces led by Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, leader of the Somali Salvation Democratic Front, and President Ali Mahdi Muhammad was unrecognized as the interim president by some factions. The same year, the northern portion of the country declared its independence as Somaliland; although de facto independent and relatively stable compared to the tumultuous south, it has not been recognized by any foreign government. In the period 1991-1992, a split in the southern United Somali Congress, which led efforts to unseat Barre, caused an escalation in the civil war, especially in the Mogadishu area.

The civil war disrupted agriculture and food distribution in southern Somalia. The resulting famine caused the United Nations Security Council in 1992 to authorize a limited peacekeeping operation called United Nations Operation in Somalia, known as UNOSOM I. UNOSOM's use of force was limited to self defense and it was soon disregarded by the warring factions. In reaction to the continued violence and the humanitarian disaster, the United States organized a military coalition with the purpose of creating a secure environment in southern Somalia for the conduct of humanitarian operations. The coalition, called Unified Task Force or UNITAF entered Somalia in December 1992 on Operation Restore Hope and was successful in restoring order and alleviating the famine. In May of 1993, most of the United States troops withdrew and UNITAF was replaced by United Nations Operation in Somalia II, or UNOSOM II. Somali Warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid saw the UNOSOM II nation-building efforts as a threat to his power. In June 1993, militia loyal to Aidid attacked UNOSOM II Pakistani Army troops in Mogadishu inflicting over 80 casualties. Fighting between Aidid forces and UNOSOM II elements escalated until 19 American troops and more than 1,000 Somalis were killed in a raid in Mogadishu in October 1993 when two helicopters (Supers 61 & 64) were shot down (as portrayed in the film Black Hawk Down). American troops explored the crash sites and tried to secure them. In the second Black Hawk crash site, two American snipers went in and found one pilot alive, but were later killed by Somalis as well as the pilot captured.

The UN withdrew in Operation United Shield by March 3, 1995, having suffered significant casualties, and the rule of government has not yet been restored.

In June 1996, Mohamed Farrah Aidid was killed in the capital of Mogadishu.

Yet another secession from Somalia took place in the northeastern region. The self-governing state took the name Puntland after declaring itself autonomous in 1998, with the intention that it would participate in any Somali reconciliation to form a new central government. Puntland considers itself still within the Somali Republic.

2000 – Present

Political organization

In 2002, Southwestern Somalia, comprising Bay, Bakool, Jubbada Dhexe (Middle Juba), Gedo, Shabeellaha Hoose (Lower Shabele) and Jubbada Hoose (Lower Juba) regions of Somalia declared itself autonomous. However, at the time of its declaration, the Rahanweyn Resistance Army, established in 1999, was in full control of Bay and Bakool and parts of Gedo and Jubbada Dhexe regions only. This temporary secession was reasserted in 2002, leading to de facto autonomy of Southwestern Somalia. An internal armed conflict between Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud and his two deputies, weakened it militarily. From February 2006, this area and the city of Baidoa became central to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

File:Location federal.png

Areas directly administered by the Transitional Federal Government

In 2004, the TFG organized and wrote a charter for the governing of the nation. The government wrote the charter in Nairobi. The TFG capital is presently in Baidoa.

Somalia at the height of Islamist power, December 2006

In 2006, the Islamic Courts Union rose to predominant control of Somalia. They took over the capital of Mogadishu in thend Ba Secottle of Mogadishu in May–June and began to spread their control through the rest of the country.

Another secession occurred in July 2006 with the declaration of regional autonomy by the state of Jubaland nominally consisting of parts of Gedo, Jubbada Dhexe, and the whole of Jubbada Hoose region. Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale, chairman of the Administration of Juba Valley Alliance, who comes from Galguduud region, in central Somalia is the most powerful leader there. This regional government did not want full statehood.

2006 Civil War

A conflict to unseat the warlords broke out in early 2006 between an alliance of Mogadishu warlords known as the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism or "ARPCT" and a militia loyal to Islamic Courts Union or "ICU." Several hundred people, mostly civilians, died in the crossfire. Mogadishu residents described it as the worst fighting in more than a decade. The Islamists accused the U.S. of funding the warlords through the Central Intelligence Agency in an effort to prevent the Islamists gaining power. The United States Department of State, while neither admitting nor denying this, said the U.S. had taken no action that violated the international arms embargo of Somalia. A few e-mails describing covert illegal operations by private military companies in breach of UN regulations have been reported by the UK Sunday newspaper The Observer. The U.N. maintains an arms embargo on Somalia, and some have alleged that the U.S. broke international law by supplying the Mogadishu warlords.

On June 5, 2006 the Islamic Militia said it had taken control of the whole of Mogadishu following the Second Battle of Mogadishu. On 14 June 2006 the last ARPCT stronghold in southern Somalia, the town of Jowhar, fell with little resistance to the ICU. The remaining ARPCT forces fled to the east or across the border into Ethiopia. The warlords' alliance effectively collapsed.

The UN-recognized Transitional Government then called for intervention by a regional East African peacekeeping force. ICU leaders opposed this, and lobbied African Union (AU) member states at an AU ceremony in Libya on September 9 2006 to abandon plans to send peacekeepers to Somalia. The Islamists were fiercely opposed to foreign troops — particularly Ethiopians — in Somalia.

Somalia and Ethiopia had fought a bitter war in 1977–78 over the Somali province of Ogaden, which has been ruled by the Ethiopians since the partition of Somali lands in the first half of the 20th century by the British Empire. In addition, the ICU claimed that Ethiopia, with its long history as an imperial power, seeks to occupy Somalia, or rule it by proxy.

Steadily the Islamist militia backing the ICU took control of much of the southern half of Somalia, normally through negotiation with local clan chiefs rather than by the use of force. The Islamists stayed clear of the government headquarters town of Baidoa, which Ethiopia said it would protect if threatened. But on September 25 2006, the ICU moved into the southern port of Kismayo, the last remaining port held by the transitional government.

Many Somali refugees, as well as the UN recognized transitional government of Somalia, then lived close to the border of Ethiopia, protected by Ethiopian troops. The Islamist Militia issued a war declaration against Ethiopia on October 9, 2006.

On Wednesday, November 1, 2006, peace talks between the UN-recognized transitional government in the North and the Islamists of the south broke down. The international community feared an all-out civil war, with Ethiopian and rival Eritrean forces backing opposing sides in the power-struggle and political deadlock between the appointed transitional government and the ICU.

War erupted on Thursday, December 21, 2006 when the leader of ICU, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys said: "Somalia is in a state of war, and all Somalis should take part in this struggle against Ethiopia," after which heavy fighting broke out between the Islamist militia on one side and the Somali Transitional Government allied with Ethiopian forces on the other.

On Sunday, December 24, 2006, Ethiopian forces launched unilateral airstrikes against Islamist troops and strong points across Somalia. Ethiopian Information Minister Berhan Hailu stated that targets included the town of Buurhakaba, near the administration's base in Baidoa. This was the first use of airstrikes by Ethiopia and also its first public admission of involvement in Somalia.

That same day, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi announced that his country was waging war against the Islamists to protect his country's sovereignty. "Ethiopian defence forces were forced to enter into war to the protect the sovereignty of the nation and to blunt repeated attacks by Islamic courts terrorists and anti-Ethiopian elements they are supporting," he said.

On Monday, December 25, 2006 Ethiopia declared war on the Islamic Courts, and one Ethiopian jet fighter strafed Mogadishu International Airport, without apparently causing serious damage but prompting the airport to be shut down. Other Ethiopian jet fighters attacked a military airport west of Mogadishu.

Days of heavy fighting followed as Ethiopian and government troops backed by tanks and jets pushed against Islamist forces between Baidoa and Mogadishu. Both sides claimed to have inflicted hundreds of casualties, but the Islamist infantry and vehicle artillery were badly beaten and forced to retreat toward Mogadishu. On December 28, 2006, the allies entered Mogadishu after Islamist fighters fled the city.

The Islamists retreated south, towards their stronghold in Kismayo, fighting rearguard actions in several towns. They abandoned Kismayo, too, without a fight, claiming that their flight was a strategic withdrawal to avoid civilian casualties. They entrenched around the small town of Ras Kamboni, at the southernmost tip of Somalia and on the border with Kenya. In early January, the Ethiopians and the Somali government attacked, capturing the Islamist positions and driving the surviving fighters into the hills and forests after several days of combat. On Tuesday, January 9, 2007, the United States openly intervened in Somalia by sending Lockheed AC-130 gunships to attack Islamist positions in Ras Kamboni. Dozens were killed. By then the ICU were largely defeated.

The War in Somalia is an ongoing armed conflict involving largely Ethiopian and Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces versus the Islamist militant umbrella group, the Islamic Court Union (ICU), and other affiliated militias for control of the country. The war officially began on December 21, 2006, when the leader of the ICU, Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, declared "Somalia is in a state of war, and all Somalis should take part in this struggle against Ethiopia". On December 24, Ethiopia stated it would actively combat the ICU.

Ethiopia's prime minister, Meles Zenawi, said Ethiopia entered hostilities because it faced a direct threat to its own borders. “Ethiopian defense forces were forced to enter into war to protect the sovereignty of the nation,” he said. “We are not trying to set up a government for Somalia, nor do we have an intention to meddle in Somalia's internal affairs. We have only been forced by the circumstances.”

While it is true the ICU made threats to carry the war into Ethiopia, the circumstances referred to were in part due to prior Ethiopian actions in response to historical conflicts in the region. Before proxy wars between Ethiopia and Eritrea began in the late 1990s, ICU was helping rebels inside Eastern Ethiopia against the Ethiopian government. Thus Ethiopia's involvement in Somalia had begun months before, with the intercession of forces to support the establishment of the transitional government, and to support other regional governments considered more acceptable to Ethiopia so that ICU won't be able to support more insurgents inside Eastern Ethiopia.

The ICU, which controlled the coastal areas of southern Somalia, engaged in fighting with the forces of the Somali TFG, and the autonomous regional governments of Puntland and Galmudug, all of whom were backed by Ethiopian troops. The outbreak of heavy fighting began on December 20 with the Battle of Baidoa, after the lapse of a one-week deadline the ICU imposed on Ethiopia (on December 12) to withdraw from the nation. Ethiopia, however, refused to abandon its positions around the TFG interim capital at Baidoa. On December 29, after several successful battles, TFG and Ethiopian troops entered Mogadishu relatively unopposed. The UN also stated that many Arab nations including Libya & Egypt were also supporting the ICU via Eritrea. Although not announced until later, a small number of U.S. special forces troops accompanied Ethiopian and TFG troops after the collapse and withdrawal of the ICU to give military advice and to track suspected al-Qaida fighters. Both American support for the TFG and various Arab Nations' support for the ICU were isolated cases from the central motive of the war between the allied Ethiopian & Somali government forces and the allied ICU & Eritrean forces.

The two sides had traded war declarations and gun fire on several occasions before. Eastern African countries and international observers fear the Ethiopian offensive may lead to a regional war, involving Eritrea, a long-time enemy of Ethiopia, who Ethiopia claims to be a supporter of the ICU.

Forces involved

The scope of forces involved are difficult to calculate because of many factors, including lack of formal organization or record-keeping, and claims which remained masked by disinformation. Ethiopia for months leading up to the war maintained it had only a few hundred advisors in the country. Yet independent reports indicated far more troops. According to the BBC, "The United Nations estimated that at least 8,000 Ethiopian troops may be in the country while the AP suggests the number closer to 12-15,000, while regional rival Eritrea has deployed some 2,000 troops in support of the Islamic group." Ethiopia only admitted to 3,000–4,000 being involved, though the ICU claimed the Ethiopians had 30,000 troops, while Eritrea denies having any troops in Somalia. In addition, the TFG alleged there were up to 8,000 foreign mujahideen fighting on behalf of the ICU, based on the ICU's worldwide appeal for Muslim mujahideen to come fight for their cause. Somali government troops and allied militias estimated roughly 10,000.

Background

Historic background

A broader perspective shows many incidents of Ethiopian-Somali conflict. Boundary disputes over the Ogaden region date to the 1948 settlement when the land was granted to Ethiopia. Somali disgruntlement with this decision has led to repeated attempts to invade Ethiopia with the hopes of taking control of the Ogaden to create a Greater Somalia. This plan would have reunited the Somali people of the Ethiopian-controlled Ogaden with those living in the Republic of Somalia. Without that, ethnic and political tensions have caused cross-border clashes over the years.

• 1960–1964 Border Dispute
• 1977–1978 Ogaden War
• 1982 August Border Clash
• 1998–2000 Cross-border warfare during the chaotic warlord-led era.

Conflicts between Ethiopia and Somalia are not limited to the 20th–21st Centuries. Wars between Somalia, or its precursor Islamic states, and Ethiopia, stretch back to 16th century. For example, Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi was a 16th Century Islamic leader popular in Somali culture for his jihad against the Ethiopians during the rise of the Adal Sultanate.

Therefore, painful living history, oral and cultural traditions, long-standing ethnic divisions and sectarian differences lay between the two nations and fuel the conflict.

Diplomatic and humanitarian efforts

The war is being responded to by high-level diplomatic engagements, including the UN Security Council, the EU, Arab League, and African Union. Many humanitarian organizations are making appeals to stem the conflict before it causes catastrophic civilian suffering.

Information Warfare, Disinformation and Propaganda

Even before the beginning of the war there have been significant assertions and accusations of the use of disinformation and propaganda tactics by various parties to shape the causes and course of the conflict. This includes assertions of falsification of the presence or number of forces involved, exaggeration or minimization of the casualties inflicted or taken, influence or control of media outlets (or shutting them down), and other informational means and media to sway popular support and international opinion.

Timeline

2006

July–October 2006

Ethiopian troops moved into Somalian territory on July 20, 2006.

On August 1, 2006, the ICU sent technicals out towards the Ethiopian border north of Beledweyne. Ethiopian troops were reportedly sent across the border to stop the ICU's advance.

On October 9, it was reported Ethiopian troops seized Burhakaba. Another article seemed to indicate the Ethiopian control was a troop convoy passing through. Islamists claim the town reverted to their control after the Ethiopians departed. SomaliNet reports the elders asked the government to leave to avoid bloodshed in their town. The article said it was government troops, and not Ethiopians who had come to the town.

November - December 2006

An Ethiopian column of 80 vehicles was hit by landmines then attacked with gunfire by a group of about 50 troops loyal to the ICU on November 19, 2006 near Berdaale, 30 miles (50 km) west of Baidoa. Six Ethiopians were reported killed in the attack. Two Ethiopian trucks burned and two were overturned.

An exchange of mortar shells between Islamic Courts Union and Ethiopian forces occurred in Galkayo on November 28, 2006 with both Islamists and Ethiopian forces facing off. Ethiopian and Islamist forces in Galkayo, central Somalia, were less than 5 kilometers away from one another.

On November 30, an Ethiopian military convoy in Somalia was ambushed by fighters loyal to the Islamic Courts Union. Eyewitnesses said a truck was blown up and there was an exchange of fire. The ICU claim 20 soldiers died. Ethiopia's parliament voted the same day to authorize the government take "all necessary" steps to rebuff any potential invasion by Somalia's Islamists.

On December 8, 2006, fighters from Somalia's Islamic Courts Union clashed with Somalian pro-government forces, allegedly in cooperation with Ethiopian troops. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, head of the Islamic Courts, told a crowd in Mogadishu that fighting had started in Dinsor in the south, and called on all Somalis to "stand up and defeat the enemies". Another official said Ethiopian troops had shelled the town of Bandiradley. The Deputy Defence Minister of the Somali government, Salat Ali Jelle, confirmed the fighting but denied any Ethiopian troops were involved. The Ethiopian government has denied repeated claims that its troops are fighting alongside Somali government militia.

Witnesses in Dagaari village near Bandiradley said that they saw hundreds of Ethiopian troops and tanks take up positions near the town with militiamen from the northeastern semi-autonomous region of Puntland.

On December 9, fighters from Somalia's Islamic Courts and pro-government soldiers clashed in a second day of fighting. The fighting occurred 40 kilometers from the interim government's headquarters in Baidoa. Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal, an Islamic Courts official, said that the government had launched a counterattack at Rama'addey village, while Ali Mohamed Gedi, the prime minister, claimed that Islamic Courts fighters had attacked government positions.

On December 13, a Reuters report said that the ICU claimed 30,000 Ethiopian troops were involved in Somalia, while 4,000 foreign fighters were involved on the side of the ICU. Ethiopia denied having troops other than "military advisors" present.

On December 20, major fighting broke out around the TFG capital of Baidoa. Thirteen trucks filled with Ethiopian reinforcements were reported en route to the fighting. Leaders of both groups briefly kept an option open for peace talks brokered by the EU.

On December 22, nearly 20 Ethiopian tanks headed toward the front line. According to government sources Ethiopia had 20 T-55 tanks and four attack helicopters in Baidoa.

On December 23, Ethiopian tanks and further reinforcements arrived in Daynuunay, 30 kilometres east of Baidoa; prompting ICU forces to vow all-out war despite a commitment to a EU-brokered peace. Heavy fighting continued in Lidale and Dinsoor.

On December 24, Ethiopia admitted its troops were fighting the Islamists, after stating earlier in the week it had only sent several hundred military advisors to Baidoa. Heavy fighting erupted in border areas, with reports of air strikes and shelling, including targets near the ICU-held town of Beledweyne. According to Ethiopian Information Minister Berhan Hailu: "The Ethiopian government has taken self-defensive measures and started counter-attacking the aggressive extremist forces of the Islamic Courts and foreign terrorist groups."

On December 25, Ethiopian and Somali forces captured Beledweyne. Defending ICU forces fled Beledweyne concurrent to Ethiopian airstrikes against the Mogadishu and Bali-Dogle airports. Heavy fighting was also reported in Burhakaba.

File:Ethiopian tank somalia.jpg

Ethiopian army T-55 tank near Mogadishu

On December 26, the ICU was in retreat on all fronts, losing much of the territory they gained in the months preceding the Ethiopian intervention. They reportedly fell back to Daynuunay and Mogadishu.

On December 27, Ethiopian and Somali government forces were en route to Somalia's capital, Mogadishu after capturing the strategic town of Jowhar, 90km north from the capital. The ICU were in control of little more than the coast, abandoning many towns without putting up a fight. Also, the UIC top two commanders, defense chief Yusuf Mohammed Siad Inda'ade and his deputy Abu Mansur were away on the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca.

After the Fall of Mogadishu to the Ethiopian and government forces on December 28, fighting continued in the Juba River valley, where the ICU retreated, establishing a new headquarters in the city of Kismayo. Intense fighting was reported on December 31 in the Battle of Jilib and the ICU frontlines collapsed during the night to artillery fire, causing the ICU to once again go into retreat, abandoning Kismayo, without a fight and retreating towards the Kenyan border.

2007

Military events in 2007 focused on the southern section of Somalia, primarily the withdrawal of ICU forces from Kismayo, and their pursuit using Ethiopian air strikes in Afmadow district concurrent to the Battle of Ras Kamboni. During this battle, the U.S. launched an airstrike conducted by an AC-130 gunship against suspected Al-Qaeda operatives. A second airstrike was made after the battle later in January 2007.

Within a week of the TFG and Ethiopian army’s arrival in Mogadishu the first insurgent attacks began. Ethiopian and TFG forces responded by sealing off areas around the attack sites and conducting house-to-house searches. The TFG also passed a three-month emergency law in parliament and called for a disarmament of the militias on January 13, 2007. The provisions of the emergency law gave the TFG much wider powers and allowed President Yusuf to rule by decree.

Between January and March 2007 insurgent attacks took several forms: assassinations of government officials; attacks on military convoys; and rocket-propelled grenade or mortar attacks on police stations, TFG and Ethiopian military bases, or other locations or individuals deemed by the insurgency to be political or military targets. For instance, several hotels known to accommodate TFG officials, such as the Ambassador, Global, and Lafweyne Hotels, were repeatedly hit with RPGs and mortar rounds and were the site of attempted assassinations of TFG officials.

The insurgency was mobile, often using hit-and-run tactics in its attacks or setting up and launching mortar rounds within minutes, then melting back into the civilian population. After an insurgent attack on a convoy or other mobile target, Ethiopian and TFG forces typically sealed off the area and conducted house-to-house searches of the area. The Ethiopian and TFG response to mortar attacks increasingly included the return firing of mortars and rockets in the direction of origin of insurgency fire. In the beginning of March, the first 1,500 African Union Mission to Somalia soldiers begun arriving in Somalia.

By the end of March, the fighting intensified in Mogadishu and more than a thousand people, mostly civilians, were killed. Hawiye clan militiamen allied with the Islamists clashed with TFG and Ethiopian troops.

After the end of that battle in April in which heavy weapons were used and turned parts of Mogadishu into ashes, the allied forces of Somalia and Ethiopia were said to have won over the local insurgents. Since May 2007 it has been increasingly apparent that the March and April fighting did not stem the insurgency. The insurgents started a low level but very effective violence campaign including suicide bombings, hit and run missions and hunting high-profile government officials.

War crimes

Based on dozens of eyewitness accounts gathered by Human Rights Watch in a six-week research mission to Kenya and Somalia in April and May 2007, plus subsequent interviews and research in June and July, report was released by the HRW that documents the illegal means and methods of warfare allegedly used by all of the warring parties and the resulting catastrophic toll on civilians in Mogadishu.

Suicide bombings

In late 2006, two suicide bombings were reported in Baidoa where the government was stationed at the time.

In the beginning of April 2007, Al-Jazeera TV aired a Somali man who was speaking in Arabic and reciting Koranic verses. Then they showed an SUV full what appeared to be explosives driving toward an Ethiopian compound followed by a large explosion.

The insurgents adapted Middle East style suicide bombings. At least one person blew himself on April 19, 2007 near an Ethiopian military compound. A bystander said at least two Ethiopian vehicles entering the compound were destroyed to small pieces. [1]

On April 24, a suicide bomber attacked an Ethiopian forces compound in Afgoye town, 30km south of Mogadishu. There were no immediate casualty reports. [2]

On April 25, 11 people were killed in a suicide attack on a major hotel around KM4 roundabout, south of Mogadishu where the Somali government officials are based. [3]

On June 3, a truck bomb exploded outside the residence of the Somali interim prime minister, Ali Mohamed Ghedi. At least six people were killed and 10 injured - most of them bodyguards. [4]

Somaliland

Having secured the southern and central area of Somalia in mid January 2007, the Transitional Federal Government is faced with the issue of whether, and how, to unify the entirety of Somalia as it existed in 1991. Since that year, Somaliland has been operating as a de facto independent nation, though unrecognized internationally. According to the Transitional Federal Charter, the Somali Republic includes the area of Somaliland in the definition of its sovereign territory.

There are various political forces involved. Ethiopia depends on Somaliland to provide port facilities since the loss of the coast with Eritrea, and generally supports the idea of Somaliland independence, while Eritrea supports Somaliland being reabsorbed into Somalia to make a larger nation to counter Ethiopia's dominance on the region. As well, eastern Somaliland is disputed with Puntland because of clan ties..

On January 11, Somaliland and Ethiopia held talks regarding further economic ties.

On January 14, 2007, leaders of Somaliland's three main political parties, the UDUB, Kulmiye, and UCID, held a press conference warning of regional war if Somalia tried to reabsorb Somaliland. On January 16, tens of thousands protested in Hargeisa against the prospect of reunification, burning Somalian flags. The next day, January 17, thousands demonstrated in favor of joining the TFG took place in the Sool and Sanag regions of Somaliland.

Weapons

The Ethiopian Army is equipped with predominantly Soviet-made weapons while TFG and Islamic weapons vary, having mostly small arms. The following table should not be considered exhaustive.

Type	Ethiopian Army	TFG	Islamists
Tanks	T-55, T-62, T-72	none	none
APC's/IFV's	BTR-40, M113, BTR-60	technicals	technicals
Artillery	2A18, M1937 Howitzer, BM-21, 120mm mortars	120mm mortars	120mm mortars
Aircraft	MiG-21, MiG-23, Su-27	none	none
Helicopters	Mi-6, Mi-8, Mi-24	none	none
Small Arms, Light Weapons	AK-47, Heckler & Koch G3, PKM, DShK, ZU-23, RPG-2, RPG-7	AK-47, Heckler & Koch G3, PKM, DShK, ZU-23, RPG-2, RPG-7	AK-47, DShK, Browning M2, ZU-23, M79, RPG-7

Key people

TFG

An August 24, 2006 article in the Sudan Tribune identified several warlords involved with TFG military units:

• Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed – TFG president, former leader of the SSDF.
• Mohamed Omar Habeeb (Mohamed Dheere) – controlled Jowhar region with the help of Ethiopia; after losing in Mogadishu as part of the ARPCT, regrouped his militia in Ethiopia & since returned (see Battle of Jowhar).
• Muuse Suudi Yalahow – Controlled Medina District in Mogadishu but was forced to flee by the ICU. Has since returned to the city.
• Hussein Mohamed Farrah – son of late General Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Although his father was a key anti-U.N. force in the mid-1990s, Farrah is a naturalized U.S. citizen and former U.S. Marine who controlled Villa Somalia. Former leader of the SRRC militia. The Sudan Tribune says Farrah is in the patronage of Ethiopia, and Western interests see him as their best hope to improve Somali-Western relations.
• Abdi Hasan Awale Qeybdiid – former finance minister under Gen. Aidid; arrested in Sweden for warcrimes, but later released due to lack of evidence.
• Colonel Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud – affiliated with the Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA). Came to power after his militia (with the help of Ethiopian paramilitary forces) drived out Aidid's militia from Baidoa, which became the seat of the transitional government. Presently TFG Minister of Finance.
• Mohamed Qanyare Afrah – former Security Minister and member of ARPCT
• Barre Aadan Shire "Hiiraale" – leader of the Juba Valley Alliance (JVA); controls Kismayo (and until its loss to the ICU, Marka region).
• Hassan Abdullah Qalaad

ICU

• Sharif Ahmed, head of the ICU executive committee
• Hassan Dahir Aweys, head of the ICU shura council, former Somali colonel, listed by the U.S. as a terrorist for heading Osama bin Laden-supported Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya in the 1990s.
• Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki, led forces which captured Juba Valley, on U.S. terrorist list for taking over the leadership of Aweys' group
• Abu Taha al-Sudan, reported to have led the ICU troops in the Battle of Baidoa, former Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, wanted by the U.S. as the financier of the 1998 United States embassy bombings and involvement in the 2002 Mombasa hotel bombing
• Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, listed as a terrorist by the U.S. for reported involvement in the 2002 Mombasa hotel bombing, said to have been a target of the U.S. AC-130 raid in January 2007
• Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, listed as a terrorist by the U.S. for reported involvement in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings. Some sources claim that he was a target of the U.S. AC-130 raid. His death by the AC-130 raid was later reported by Somali authorities, but denied by US officials.
• Aden Hashi Farah "Eyrow", led commandos of the ICU's Hizbul Shabaab movement against Ethiopian-backed forces in the Battle of Baidoa, before fleeing and being targeted by the U.S. AC-130 raid that killed eight people on January 8, 2007. Was named Al-Qaeda's leader in Somalia in March, 2007.

Politics

The politics of Somalia are defined by the state of civil war which, since 1991, has divided the country into various warring entities and autonomist and seccessionist regions. One area in the northwest, Somaliland-Puntland, forms a stable although internationally unrecognized de facto sovereign state. For information on its politics, see Regional autonomy Politics of Somaliland-Puntland.

At the beginning of 2007 Somalia was consolidating under the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which recently completed a military campaign against the Islamic Court Union (ICU). The TFG is supported by the United Nations. Until recently, it governed out of an administrative capital in Baidoa. In the last days of 2006, forces of the transitional government supported by Ethiopian forces ousted the ICU from Mogadishu. Peace keeping forces from the African Union are expected to support the transitional government in its bid to control the country.

During the war against the ICU, the autonomous states of Puntland, Jubaland, Southwestern Somalia and Galmudug had closely aligned themselves with the TFG and the supporting Ethiopian forces.

Somalia became a united independent state on 1 July 1960 upon the merger of British Somaliland, which had become independent from the British five days earlier on 26 June 1960 and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered United Nations trusteeship on 1 July to form the Somali Republic. The territory that was once British Somaliland is the area that now forms Somaliland, which declared its independence in 1991. This governing zone is not internationally recognized although it has remained more stable and certainly more peaceful than the south and northeast. Puntland in the northeast declared itself autonomous in 1998.

On October 14, 2004, Somali members of parliament elected Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, previously president of Puntland, to be the next president. Because of the situation in Mogadishu, the election was held in a sports center in Nairobi, Kenya. Yusuf was elected transitional President by Transitional Federal Parliament. He won 189 of the 275 votes from members of parliament. The session of Parliament was also held in neighboring Kenya. His government is recognized by most Western nations as legitimate.

Many other small political organizations exist, some clan-based, others seeking a Somalia free from clan-based politics. Many of them have come into existence since the civil war.

Capital

Mogadishu is the capital of Somalia. In 2006, Mogadishu became part of the territory controlled by the Islamic Courts Union. While the Transitional Federal Government had its seat in Baidoa it was also considered a capital.

On December 28, 2006, troops of the U.N.-backed interim government rolled into Mogadishu unopposed, putting an end to six months of domination of the capital by a radical Islamic movement. Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Ghedi declared that Mogadishu had been secured, after meeting with local clan leaders to discuss the peaceful hand-over of the city. Yet as of August 2, 2007, the federal transitional government and its Ethiopian allies with AU support were still coping with daily attacks in Mogadishu from a Somali Islamic insurgency.

Administrative divisions

Political map of Somalia.

Somalia is divided into eighteen regions (gobollada, sing. gobol), which in turn are subdivided into districts. The regions are:

1 Awdal 2 Bakool 3 Banaadir 4 Bari 5 Bay 6 Galguduud

7 Gedo   8 Hiiraan   9 Jubbada Hoose 10 Shabeellaha Hoose 11 Mudug 12 Jubbada Dhexe

13 Shabeellaha Dhexe 14 Nugaal 15 Sanaag 16 Sool 17 Togdheer 18 Woqooyi Galbeed

Somalia continues to have one of the highest child mortality rates in the world, with 10 percent of children dying at birth and 25 percent of those surviving birth dying before age five. On the other hand, Somalia also has one of the lowest HIV infection rates in Africa. only 1.5 or 2 percent of the adult population.

Defense

There are no Somali armed forces. Prior to 1991, the Somali National Army was made up of the army, navy, air force, and air defense command. The Transitional Federal Government and other various groups throughout Somalia are estimated to control militias ranging in strength from hundreds to thousands. Some groups possess limited inventories of older armored vehicles and other heavy weapons, and small arms are prevalent throughout Somalia.

Foreign relations

Somalia followed a foreign policy of nonalignment for a brief period following independence. In 1970, the Siad Barre regime declared a national ideology based on scientific Socialism and aligned its foreign policy with the Soviet Union and China. In the 1980s, Somalia shifted its alignment to the West following a territorial conflict with Ethiopia over the disputed Somali-populated region of the Ogaden from 1977-78, which was supported by the Soviet Union. The central government also sought ties with many Arab countries, and continued to receive financial and military support from several Arab countries prior to its collapse in 1991.

In 1963, Somalia severed diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom for a period following a dispute over Kenya's Somali-populated northeastern region (Northern Frontier District), an area inhabited mainly by Somalis. Related problems have arisen from the boundary with Ethiopia and the large-scale migrations of Somali nomads between Ethiopia and Somalia. In the aftermath of the 1977-78 war between Somalia and Ethiopia, the Government of Somalia continued to call for self-determination for ethnic Somalis living in the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia. At the March 1983 Nonaligned Movement summit in New Delhi, President Siad Barre stated that Somalia harbored no expansionist aims and was willing to negotiate with Ethiopia over the disputed Ogaden region.

Following the collapse of the Barre regime, the foreign policy of the various entities in Somalia, including the Transitional Federal Government, has centered on gaining international recognition, winning international support for national reconciliation, and obtaining international economic assistance.

Although the U.S. never formally severed diplomatic relations with Somalia, the U.S. Embassy in Somalia has been closed since the collapse of the Siad Barre government in 1991. The United States maintains regular dialogue with the Transitional Federal Government and other key stakeholders in Somalia through the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

Economy

Since the collapse of the state, Somalia has transformed from what Mohamed Siad Barre referred to as "Scientific Socialism" to a free market economy.

Agriculture is the most important sector, with livestock accounting for about 40 percent of GDP and about 65 percent of export earnings. Nomads and semi-nomads, who are dependent upon livestock for their livelihood, make up a large portion of the population. After livestock, bananas are the principal export; sugar, sorghum, maize, and fish are products for the domestic market. The small industrial sector, based on the processing of agricultural products, accounts for 10 percent of GDP.

• • • from Background Notes:

ECONOMY

 Somalia lacks natural resources and faces major development challenges, and  
 recent economic reverses have left its people increasingly dependent on      
 remittances from abroad. Its economy is pastoral and agricultural, with      
 livestock—principally camels, cattle, sheep, and goats—representing the    
 main form of wealth. Livestock exports in recent years have been severely    
 reduced by periodic bans, ostensibly for concerns of animal health, by       
 Arabian Peninsula states. Drought has also impaired agricultural and         
 livestock production. Because rainfall is scanty and irregular, farming      
 generally is limited to certain coastal districts, areas near Hargeisa, and  
 the Juba and Shabelle River valleys. The agricultural sector of the economy  
 consists mainly of banana plantations located in the south, which has used   
 modern irrigation systems and up-to-date farm machinery.                     
                                                                       
 A small fishing industry exists in the north where tuna, shark, and other    
 warm-water fish are caught, although fishing production is seriously affected
 by poaching. Aromatic woods—frankincense and myrrh—from a small and        
 diminishing forest also contribute to the country's exports. Minerals,       
 including uranium and likely deposits of petroleum and natural gas, are found
 throughout the country, but have not been exploited commercially. Petroleum  
 exploration efforts have ceased due to insecurity and instability. Illegal   
 production in the south of charcoal for export has led to widespread         
 deforestation. With the help of foreign aid, small industries such as        
 textiles, handicrafts, meat processing, and printing are being established.  
                                                                       
 The absence of central government authority, as well as profiteering from    
 counterfeiting, has rapidly debased Somalia's currency. By the spring of     
 2002, the Somali shilling had fallen to over 30,000 shillings to the U.S.    
 dollar. The self-declared Republic of Somaliland issues its own currency, the
 Somaliland shilling, which is not accepted outside of the self-declared      
 republic.                                                                    
                                                                       
 There are no railways in Somalia; internal transportation is by truck and    
 bus. The national road system nominally comprises 22,100 kilometers (13,702  
 mi.) of roads that include about 2,600 kilometers (1,612 mi.) of all-weather 
 roads, although most roads have received little maintenance for years and    
 have seriously deteriorated.                                                 
                                                                       
 Air transportation is provided by small air charter firms and craft used by  
 drug smugglers. A number of airlines operate from Hargeisa. Some private     
 airlines, including Daallo Airlines, serve several domestic locations as well
 as Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates. The UN and other NGOs operate air  
 service for their missions.                                                  
                                                                       
 The European Community and the World Bank jointly financed construction of a 
 deepwater port at Mogadishu (currently closed). The Soviet Union improved    
 Somalia's deepwater port at Berbera in 1969. Facilities at Berbera were      
 further improved by a U.S. military construction program completed in 1985,  
 but they have since become dilapidated. During the 1990s the United States   
 renovated a deepwater port at Kismayo that serves the fertile Juba River     
 basin and is vital to Somalia's banana export industry. Smaller ports are    
 located at Merca, Brava, and Bossaso. Absence of security and lack of        
 maintenance and improvement are major issues at most Somali ports.           
                                                                     

GDP (2005 est.): U.S. $4.809 billion.

 Annual growth rate (2005 est.): 2.4%.                                        
 Per capita GDP (2005 est.): $600.                                            
 Avg. inflation rate: N/A.                                                    
 Natural resources: Largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum,    
 bauxite, uranium, copper, and salt; likely petroleum and natural gas         
 reserves.                                                                    
 Agriculture: Products—livestock, fish, bananas, corn, sorghum, sugar. Arable
 land—13%, of which 2% is cultivated.                                        
 Industry: Types—Telecommunications, livestock, fishing, textiles,           
 transportation, and limited financial services. Somalia's surprisingly       
 innovative private sector has continued to function despite the lack of a    
 functioning central government since 1991.                                   
 Trade: Exports—$241 million (f.o.b., 2004 est.): livestock, bananas, hides, 
 fish, charcoal, scrap metal. Major markets—United Arab Emirates, Yemen,     
 Oman. Imports—$576 million (f.o.b., 2004 est.): food grains, animal and     
 vegetable oils, petroleum products, construction materials, manufactured     
 products, qat. Major suppliers—Djibouti, Kenya, Brazil, India, United Arab  
 Emirates, Oman.                                                              
 Primary aid donors—United States, European Union, Australia, Canada,        
 Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden,         
 Switzerland, United Kingdom.                                                 
 Remittances (2006 est.): $800 million to $1 billion.    

Telecommunications

Somalia's public telecommunications system was almost completely destroyed or dismantled. However, private wireless companies thrive in most major cities and actually provide better services than in neighboring countries. Wireless service and Internet cafes are provided. Somalia was the last African country to access the Internet in August 2000.

Environment

Somalia is a semi-arid country with about 2 percent arable land. The civil war had a huge impact on the country’s tropical forests by facilitating the production of charcoal with ever-present, recurring, but damaging droughts. Somali environmentalist and Goldman Environmental Prize winner Fatima Jibrell became the first Somali to step in and do a much-needed effort to save the rest of the environment through local initiatives that organized local communities to protect the rural and coastal habitat.

Demographics

File:Bosaso2.jpg

Bosaso is the fastest growing city of Somalia, having quadrupled in size during the Somali civil war.

This 2002 CIA map shows population density throughout Somalia.

Background Notes: Population (2006 est., no census exists): 8.8 million (of which an estimated

 2 million in Somaliland). 

PEOPLE

 The Cushitic populations of the Somali Coast in the Horn of Africa have an   
 ancient history. Known by ancient Arabs as the Berberi, archaeological       
 evidence indicates their presence in the Horn of Africa by C.E. 100 and      
 possibly earlier. As early as the seventh century C.E., the indigenous       
 Cushitic peoples began to mingle with Arab and Persian traders who had       
 settled along the coast. Interaction over the centuries led to the emergence 
 of a Somali culture bound by common traditions, a single language, and the   
 Islamic faith.                                                               
                                                                       
 The Somali-populated region of the Horn of Africa stretches from the Gulf of 
 Tadjoura in modern-day Djibouti through Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, and down to the 
 coastal regions of southern Kenya. Unlike many countries in Africa, the      
 Somali nation extends beyond its national borders. Since gaining independence
 in 1960, the goal of Somali nationalism, also known as Pan-Somalism, has been
 the unification of all Somali populations, forming a Greater Somalia. This   
 issue has been a major cause of past crises between Somalia and its          
 neighbors—Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti.                                    
                                                                       
 Today, about 60% of all Somalis are nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists who 
 raise cattle, camels, sheep, and goats. About 25% of the population are      
 settled farmers who live mainly in the fertile agricultural zone between the 
 Juba and Shabelle Rivers in southern Somalia. The remainder of the population
 (15%-20%) is urban.                                                          
                                                                       
 Sizable ethnic groups in the country include Bantu agricultural workers,     
 several thousand Arabs and some hundreds of Indians and Pakistanis. Nearly   
 all inhabitants speak the Somali language, which remained unwritten until    
 October 1973, when the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) proclaimed it the 
 nation's official language and decreed an orthography using Latin letters.   
 Somali is now the language of instruction in schools, although Arabic,       
 English, and Italian also are used extensively.                              

Somalia has a population of around 10,700,000 according to UN estimates in 2003, 85 percent of which constitute ethnic Somalis.

Somali children

There is little reliable statistical information on urbanization in Somalia. However, rough estimates have been made indicating an urbanization of 5 percent and 8 percent per annum, with many towns rapidly growing into cities. Currently, 34 percent of the Somali population lives in towns and cities, with the percentage rapidly increasing. [5]

Because of the civil war, the country has a large diaspora community, one of the largest of the whole continent. There are over a million Somalis outside of Africa, and this excludes those who have inhabited Ogaden province, northeastern Kenya, and Djibouti.

Languages

Somali is the main language and is used virtually everywhere. Nearly every Somali citizen speaks it. Minority languages do exist, such as Af-Maay, which is spoken in areas in south-central Somalia by the Rahanweyn tribes, as well as variants of Swahili (Barawe), which are spoken along the coast by Arabs.

A considerable amount of Somalis speak Arabic due to religious reasons and ties with the Arab world and media. English is also widely used and taught, Italian used to be a major language but due to the civil war and lack of education only the older generation speaks it.

Religion

File:Somaliamosque11.jpg

Eid celebrations in Mogadishu.

The Somalis are almost entirely Sunni Muslims. Christianity's influence was significantly reduced in the 1970s when church-run schools were closed and missionaries sent home. There has been no archbishop of the Catholic cathedral in the country since 1989; the cathedral in Mogadishu was severely damaged in the civil war of January-February 1992.

The Somali constitution discourages the promotion and propagation of any religion other than Islam. Loyalty to Islam is what reinforces distinctions that set Somalis apart from their immediate African neighbors, many of whom are either Christians (particularly the Amhara people and others of Ethiopia and Kenya) or adherents of indigenous African faiths.

Education

With the collapse of the central government in 1991, the education system is now private. Primary schools have risen from 600 before the civil war to 1,172 schools today, with an increase of 28% in primary school enrollment over the last 3 years. In 2006, Puntland, an autonomous state, was the second in Somalia (after Somaliland) to introduce free primary schools with teachers now receiving their salaries from the Puntland administration. In Mogadishu, the Benadir University, the Somalia National University, and the Mogadishu University are three of the eight universities that teach Higher education in Southern Somalia. In Puntland, higher education is provided by the Puntland State University and East Africa University. In Somaliland, it's provided by Amoud University, Hargeisa University and Burao University. Three Somali Universities are currently ranked in the top 100 of Africa. Quranic schools (also known as duqsi's) remain the basic system of instruction for religion in Somalia. They provide Islamic education for children, thereby filling a clear religious and social role in the country. Known as the most stable, local, and non-formal education providing basic religious and moral instruction, their strength rests on community support and their use of locally made and widely available teaching materials.

The Qu'ranic system, which teaches the greatest number of students relative to the other education sub-sectors, is the only system accessible to nomadic Somalis compared to the urban Somalis who have easier access to education. In 1993, a survey by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was conducted in which it found, among other things, that about 40% of pupils in Qu'ranic schools were girls] This is quite amazing compared to secular education where gender disparity is much greater.

Culture

Cuisine

Variety of Somali dishes incorporating rice, vegetables, salads and stews.

The cuisine of Somalia varies from region to region and it encompasses different styles of cooking. One thing that unites the Somali food is its being Halal. Therefore, there are no pork dishes, alcohol is not served, nothing that died on its own is eaten and no blood is incorporated. Somali people serve dinner as late as 9 pm. During Ramadan, it is often eaten after Tarawih prayers — sometimes as late as 11 pm. Cambuulo is one of Somalia's most popular dishes and is enjoyed throughout the country as a dinner meal. The dish is made out of well-cooked azuki beans, mixed with butter and sugar. The beans, which by themselves are called digir, are often left on the stove for as many as five hours, on low heat, to achieve the most desired taste.

Literature

Somalia produced a large amount of literature through Islamic poetry and Hadith from Somali scholars of the last centuries. With the adoption of the Latin script in 1973 numerous Somali authors have released books over the years which received widespread success, Nuruddin Farah being one of them. Novels like From a Crooked Rib and Links are considered important literary achievements which earned him the 1998 Neustadt International Prize for Literature.

Music

Somalia has the distinction of being one of only a handful of African countries that are composed almost entirely of one ethnic group, the Somalis. Traditional bands likeWaaberi Horseed have gained a small following outside the country. Others, like Maryam Mursal, have fused Somali traditional music with rock, bossa nova, hip hop, and jazz influences. Most Somali music is love orientated, but some recall how life was in Somalia before the civil war and some talk about how Somalis should come together to unite and restore the country to its former glory.

Toronto, where a sizable Somali community exists, replaced Mogadishu (because of the instability) as the center of the Somali music industry; it's also present in London, Minneapolis, and Columbus. One popular musician from the Somali diaspora is K'naan, a young rapper from Toronto, whose songs talk about the struggles of life in Somalia during the outbreak of the civil war.

Gallery of Somalia related pictures

• King Ahmed Gurey Mog.jpg

  Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi.

• HawoTakoFreedom.jpg

  Hawo Tako.

• Somalia-1.jpg

  Dhagaxtuur Monument

Notes

• Lewis. I.M. "Pastoral Democracy: A study on Pastoralism and Politics among the Northern Somali clans." Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1958.

References and Further Reading

• Peterson, Scott. 2000. Me Against My Brother: At War in Somalia, Sudan, and Rwanda. A Journalist Reports from the Battlefields of Africa. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0415921988

External links

• Condemn US-Ethiopian aggression against Somalia Lalkar January 2007
• Somalia Operations: Lessons Learned by Kenneth Allard (CCRP, 1995)
• From Nation-State to Stateless Nation: The Somali Experience by Michael van Notten (Amsterdam, 2000)

News

• Somalia - War situation since 1991 on France 24 – Special Report about Somalia on France 24 International News Channel
• Somalia news headlines
• Somalia's Struggle for Stability, Online NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
• HRW claims US involved in secret detention of Somalis,Breaking Legal News 2007/04/01

Economy

• Anarchy and Invention: How Does Somalia's Private Sector Cope without Government?
• Breaking Legal News 2007/04/01

General information

• Open Directory Project - Somalia
• CBC Digital Archives - The Somalia Affair

UNESCO

• UNESCO Nairobi office on education in Somalia
• UNESCO Nairobi Office - Fact Book on Education For All, Somalia 2006

Template:Credit Version