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Somalia, the Horn of Africa and US Troops in Odd Places

Since heavy fighting broke out in Mogadishu in early May 2006, far more than 300 people have been killed and many more have been injured. The political situation in Somalia has been in changing on a daily basis as three major factions battle for power. This comprehensive and well-referenced article explains the situation. (Glenn Brigaldino, Towards Freedom, 20 July 2006)

http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/858/

(Added: Fri Jul 21 2006   Hits: 98)

Somaliland: Time for African Union Leadership

The dispute between Somaliland and Somalia will become an ever-increasing source of friction, and possibly violence, unless the African Union (AU) engages in preventive diplomacy. The self-declared Republic of Somaliland is marking fifteen years since it proclaimed independence from Somalia, and if Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) expands its authority across the shattered country, the dispute over Somaliland's status is likely to become an ever-increasing source of friction. The AU should appoint a Special Envoy to consult with all relevant parties and report on the legal, security and political dimensions of the dispute and offer options for solutions within six months. Its Peace and Security Council should organise an informal consultation round with eminent scholars, political analysts and legal experts. According to this report, pending final resolution of the dispute, Somaliland should be granted interim observer status at the AU. (International Crisis Group, 22 May 2006)

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=4131

(Added: Wed May 24 2006   Modified: Thu Jul 13 2006   Hits: 232)

The Big Question: What's going on in Somalia, and is the Horn of Africa on the brink of war?

Somalia has struggled with lawlessness, violence and poverty for years, so why is it getting so much attention now, including a decision this week by the United Nations Security Council to send peacekeepers? The Independent attempts to answer this and other questions about the struggling Horn of Africa country in this analysis. (Anne Penketh, Independent, 8 December 2006)

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2055533.ece

(Added: Mon Dec 11 2006   Hits: 94)

Avoiding Conflict in the Horn of Africa

The greater Horn of Africa-including Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda-is a region of strategic importance. It is also a region in crisis. Commissioned by the Council's Center for Preventive Action this report presents a comprehensive picture of this neglected part of the world and suggests what the United States can do to address the multiple challenges to stability and peace. (Terence Lyons,Council on Foreign Relations, December 2006)

http://www.cfr.org/content/publications/attachments/Ethiopia_EritreaCSR21.pdf

(Added: Tue May 15 2007   Hits: 77)

Blind Somalis learn to live with anarchy

Ali Hussein says Somalia is the worst place in the world to be blind. To survive, he has learned to distinguish between the sounds of mortars, missiles and machineguns the better to avoid street battles. People harass him and discriminate against him, and everywhere he turns there is violence and danger. "I don't know what a gun looks like. I can't tell whether it is white or black, but I have mastered the sounds produced by most weapons. That has helped me escape from serious battles." (Guled Mohamed, Reuters Alertnet, 8 November 2006)

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L20507030.htm

(Added: Fri Nov 10 2006   Hits: 135)

Can the Somali Crisis Be Contained?

In Somalia, the stand-off between the Transitional Federal Government and its Ethiopian ally on the one hand, and the Islamic Courts, which now control Mogadishu, on the other, threatens to escalate into a wider conflict that would consume much of the south, destabilise peaceful territories like Somaliland and Puntland and possibly involve terrorist attacks in neighbouring countries unless urgent efforts are made by both sides and the international community to put together a government of national unity. Decisive international action to contain the Somali crisis is long overdue. (International Crisis Group, 10 August 2006)

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4333

(Added: Mon Aug 14 2006   Hits: 57)

CrisisWatch N°36, 1 August 2006

In 36 months of publishing CrisisWatch, the International Crisis Group has not recorded such severe deteriorations in so many conflict situations as in the past month. The Middle East erupted with full-scale conflict between Israel and Hizbollah in south Lebanon, and there was a major escalation in Israel's conflict with Hamas in Gaza. Insecurity and sectarian violence surged in Iraq, claiming over 100 civilian lives daily. Somalia sits on the brink of all-out civil war, which is drawing in the wider region: Ethiopian troops entered Somalia to support the transitional federal government, and Eritrea is arming the opposing Union of Islamic Courts. In Sudan, implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement was at a standstill, with rebels split, and fighting, over the agreement. The Mumbai bombings that killed over 200 had wider implications for the normalisation process between India and Pakistan. Tensions rose dramatically on the Korean Peninsula after Pyongyang fired seven test missiles. The situation also deteriorated in Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire and Haiti. Four situations showed improvement in July 2006: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Timor-Leste, and Cyprus. (ICG, 1 August 2006)

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=4296

(Added: Wed Aug 02 2006   Hits: 112)

Dealing with Somaliland

Soon after the state had collapsed in Somalia 1991, the self-declared Republic of Somaliland proclaimed independence from the rest of the country. Whereas the southern part of Somalia slid into anarchy, Somalilanders restored peace and built up effective government structures. Somaliland's application for African Union membership provides an opportunity to settle the issue peacefully. (Suliman Baldo, Development and Co-operation, No. 7 2006)

http://www.inwent.org/E+Z/content/archive-eng/07-2006/debate_art3.html

(Added: Mon Oct 02 2006   Hits: 177)

How to meet the Somalia challenge

In the wake of another journalist being killed in Somalia last week, this commentary says the famine, war and breakdown of civil society in the country need responses from neighboring Arab and African countries. Lending political support to build the current political system into a strong federal system, along with aid protection from the African Union or the United Nations, also would help Somalia overcome its challenges. (John K. Cooley, Christian Science Monitor, 27 June 2006)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0627/p09s02-coop.html

(Added: Thu Jun 29 2006   Modified: Thu Jul 13 2006   Hits: 86)

Local Business, Local Peace: the Peacebuilding Potential of the Domestic Private Sector

This publication highlights the domestic private sector's often overlooked peacebuilding potential. Developed and researched with partner organisations and business people from conflict-affected countries around the world, it presents more than 20 case studies where private sector actors have taken proactive steps to address violent conflict: Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Colombia, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of Congo, El Salvador, Guatemala, Israel and Palestine, Kosovo, Nepal, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Caucasus and Sri Lanka. In addition, the publication highlights businesses' efforts to support formal peace processes; to address issues in the economic sphere; to build bridges between divided communities and groups; to alleviate security concerns; as well as the special role of women entrepreneurs. (International Alert, July 2006)

http://www.international-alert.org/our_work/themes/LBLP.php

(Added: Mon Sep 11 2006   Hits: 212)

Our Failure in Somalia

Since the beginning of the year, pitched battles between U.S.-backed warlords and Islamist militias in Mogadishu have claimed hundreds of lives and displaced thousands of families. All this in the name of a counterterrorism strategy that is clearly not working. The United States would do better to engage more deeply and directly in state reconstruction efforts in Somalia. (John Prendergast, Washington Post, 7 June 2006)

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4164&l=1

(Added: Wed Jun 21 2006   Modified: Thu Jul 13 2006   Hits: 64)

Somalia : proceed with caution [pdf]

Somalia has been called 'World's Most Neglected Crisis'. This report says the international community must act now to find a viable solution to the political crisis in Somalia. The report also focuses on the feasibility of a peacekeeping force in Somalia and highlights the current political culture in Somalia as an impediment to progress. (Refugees International, April 2008)

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWFiles2008.nsf/FilesByRWDocUnidFilename/YYAA-7DA44S-full_report.pdf/$File/full_report.pdf

(Added: Mon Apr 07 2008   Hits: 58)

SOMALIA: Displaced families surviving on less than one meal a day

Large numbers of families displaced by violence in Somalia are surviving on less than one meal a day and spending large proportions of their meagre income buying drinking water, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). (IRIN, 16 March 2008)

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=77225

(Added: Mon Mar 17 2008   Hits: 17)

Somalia: Emerging from the ruins?

This page is regularly updated with news, profiles, features, analysis and personal stories of the situation in Somalia. (BBC)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/africa/2004/somalia/default.stm

(Added: Mon Aug 21 2006   Hits: 63)

Somalia: Protection fact sheet

Protection has been defined as encompassing all activities aimed at obtaining full respect for the rights of individuals in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the relevant bodies of law i.e., human rights, humanitarian and refugee law. On the basis of reports prepared by NGOs, the UN independent Expert on human rights in Somalia, first hand observations from the field and other organizations, human rights abuses in Somalia are usually created by a combination of factors, some of which are investigated in this fact sheet. (OCHA, 19 May, 2006)

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EVOD-6PXGNY?OpenDocument

(Added: Mon May 22 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 110)

SOUTH AFRICA: Attacks on Somalis expose xenophobia

A wave of violent attacks against Somali-run businesses around Cape Town is exposing tensions between poor South Africans and the millions of refugees who have flocked to the country in the hope of a better life. (IRIN, 31 August 2006)

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55361

(Added: Mon Sep 04 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 185)

The impact of armed violence on poverty and development

This study aims to aid understanding on how and when poverty and vulnerability are exacerbated by armed violence. It synthesises the findings of 13 country case studies: Algeria, Chechnya, El Salvador, Nairobi, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Northeast India, Northern Kenya, Brazil, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Southern Sudan, Sri Lanka. In addition it has a practical policy-oriented purpose and concludes with programming and policy recommendations to donor government agencies. (Mandy Turner, Jeremy Ginifer and Lionel Cliffe, University of Bradford, March 2005)

http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/cics/publications/AVPI/poverty/AVPI_Synthesis_Report.pdf

(Added: Thu Oct 19 2006   Hits: 111)