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Somalia — A Republic Gone Awry
Like most African countries plagued by natural as well as manmade disasters, Somalia — the erstwhile Democratic Republic of Somalia — is a land of 10.7 million people rife with warlordism, militant warfare, political instability and drought.With the picturesque turquoise Indian Ocean on the east, Somalia — further divided in the self-proclaimed autonomous regions of Puntland and Somaliland —borders Ethiopia in the west, Kenya in south-west and Djibouti in north-west.
The azure calm of Indian Ocean does not leave the coast line, as this African state is far from being calm or stable. Years of inter-state fighting (among warlords and Islamic militia), inter-state fighting (territorial disputes with Ethiopia), a tsunami in 2004 and deadly torrential rains in 2006, have distorted all semblance of peace and tranquillity for the country’s ill-fated inhabitants.
Somalia fell prey to colonial designs in 1884. Following a process termed as The Scramble for Africa, the country was divided between Britain, Italy and France. Following the Second World War, Somalia was made a protectorate of Italy for a period of 11 years.
On June 26, 1960, the colony was finally granted independence. By the first of July, 1960, British and ex-Italian Somaliland were reunited. While relinquishing its control over the territory, Britain gave the Ogaden province of Somalia to Ethiopia.
The elected Somali government was toppled in 1969, giving way to military rule. The coup was led by revolutionary army leader Siad Barre, who later became the president of the country. While the military government made developmental progresses internally such as establishing public works programmes and increasing the literacy rates, in the latter part of ’70s it also launched an offensive against neighbouring Ethiopia.
In 1977, Somalia and Ethiopia locked horns in the Ogaden War. The purpose of this fight was to undo the errors of colonial rule and liberate the Somali-dominated province from Ethiopia. Somalia launched this ambitious operation depending heavily on the support of Soviet Union owing to their communist ties; however, the latter not only refused any support to Somalia but also crushed it at the Ethiopian borders.
The defeat and humiliation of Ogaden War sowed seeds for internal instability in Somalia. As the end of Cold War drew nearer, the strategic importance of the country lessened and so did the support from the communist camp. The unrest among people, insurgent movements supported by Ethiopia and the disintegration of Soviet Union got mixed up in a deadly concoction and led to the collapse of the military rule in Somalia in 1991.
Thus began a dark period in the history of Somalia characterised by human suffering. President Barre was ousted in 1991, but due to the failure of the opposition forces to reach consensus, anarchy and lawlessness took over the country.
With the collapse of central authority, the northern part of Somalia seceded and declared itself Somaliland, ironically this part of territory is relatively stable than the rest of the country but it remains unrecognised by the international community. During the same period, Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, fell to escalated warfare and remained so for the next 13 years.
From 1991-98, United Nations intervened several times to alleviate the sufferings of the Somalis, who were being victimised not only by domestic warfare but also by famine. However, with incessant fighting, it became difficult for the UN to continue its operation. In 1995, UN ended its Operation United Shield owing to a large number of casualties. During the same time, the infamous incident of Mogadishu raid — portrayed in the Hollywood hit Black Hawk Down — took place in which two helicopters were shot down killing 19 American soldiers.
With the ouster of international actors, the anarchy went from bad to worse. In 1998, the north-western region of Somalia declared itself autonomous and took the name Puntland.
By 2004, after intense warfare among warlords, some semblance of authority was restored when Transitional Federal Government was established and a charter to govern the country was written in Kenya. However, the government, which is the 14th attempt to establish rule of law in Somalia, operated from Baidoa instead of Mogadishu due to unrest in the capital.
In 2006, Islamic Courts Union (ICU) took control of Mogadishu and kicked out the warlords who had enjoyed a powerful position in the region for the past 15 years. In the same year, the state of Jubaland declared itself regionally autonomous. With the rise of ICU to predominant positions, intense fighting broke out between the union and a coalition of warlords known as Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-terrorism (ARPCT).The ensuing fight is said to be the worst struggle witnessed by the civilians of Mogadishu, most of whom fell victim to the cross-fire.
With the strengthening of ICU in Somalia, Ethiopia got alarmed — as the union was threatening to spread their militant tentacles throughout Somalia and takeover Ogaden — and launched a military offensive against the ICU in December 2006.
As the ICU abandoned Mogadishu and retreating to safer positions, the Somali warlords and the transitional government both see an opportunity to establish their writ. Negotiations are also underway to send an international peacekeeping force to Somalia as the locals are weary of the presence of Ethiopian troops on their land.
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