The civil war in Somalia is a conflict that continues to cause millions of deaths and represents trivialized violence rooted in Somali communities.
Somalia is one of the most ethnically homogenous African countries, with 85% of the population belonging to the Somali ethnic group. Nonetheless, it is a country that has long been ravaged by political instability and civil war caused by clan tensions. Formerly, the southern territory was an Italian colony, and the northern territory was British. Both were particularly difficult to govern and did not result in a successful or stable territory. Through unification, the two colonies became Somalia in 1960. Soon, divisions emerged in the government, particularly because of the economic disparities between the northern and southern regions and the difficulty of merging existing institutions and the military.
The Ogaden war, initiated in 1970 against its Ethiopian neighbor, marked the beginning of the fall of Somali democracy, which ended in 1988 when the then-leader Said Barre was forced into exile in 1991. The absence of a political leader and stable government allowed for chaos. Multiple clans fought each other for power and used the control of food flux as a means of pressure. These drastic measures led to massive food shortages, creating famine and leading to the death of more than 300 000 Somalians between November 1991 and March 1993, while 1,5 million others were living in inhumane conditions. Numerous demographic displacements destabilized neighboring countries and Somalia’s tenuous internal equilibrium. The horrors committed against civilians grew so bad that the international community was forced to intervene. As soon as April 1992, the UN sent humanitarian aid convoys to assist the population.
However, many clan leaders considered this intervention illegitimate and led an active guerrilla war against the UN teams. The United States became involved in the conflict under the UN mandate between 1992 and 1995 through the “Restore Hope” and “Continue Hope” missions, aimed at restoring order in the region and asserting the American superpower in a post-Cold War context.
An asymmetrical conflict pitted the UN forces, armed with tanks and high-end helicopters (the Black Hawks), against local militias armed with rocket launchers. The Battle of Mogadishu was a turning point in this confrontation. The fervor, knowledge of the terrain, preparation, and organization of the militias enabled them to defeat the UN forces. This battle had an extremely salient international resonance. Indeed, in a world newly emerged from the Cold War, in which the United States increasingly asserted its supremacy, such a defeat for this superpower was humiliating.
The UN intervention of the 1990s was one of many international intervention attempts. However, coordination problems and a lack of field knowledge prevented the proper implementation of projects, showing the limits of American interventionism and UN action.
Thus, regional-scale and better-coordinated responses were urgent and crucial. In January 2007, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) emerged with an initial mandate of six months. Due to the need for extended action, this mission lasted until March 31st, 2022, when it was replaced by the new peacekeeping force in Somalia, ATMIS. This mission is especially focused on the fight against terrorist regimes in the territory.
Another type of action put in place was one led by Somalia’s neighboring countries. Kenya and Ethiopia implemented different strategies to stabilize the Somali situation, supported by the international community. For example, faced with the emergence of the Islamist militias of Al-Shabaab between 2003 and 2005, which controlled Mogadishu until 2011, Kenya launched Operation Linda nchi (protection of the nation) to secure its border. From its capital, Nairobi, the West tried to bring back and support the elites in Mogadishu who had been trained mainly during their exile. Then, despite the desire to “decolonize” the aid approach, Somali tensions were at the heart of the War on Terror, led by the United States, following the attacks of September 11, 2001. Nevertheless, the presence of the United States was not direct, as it was in the 1990s, but was expressed through support for Ethiopia and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).
Somalia has represented a terrorist hub since the birth of the Al-Shabaab network in 2003. Initially operating only in Somalia, the group has gradually expanded its reach to neighboring countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya, representing a regional threat. With the arrival in power of the new president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, elected in June 2022, new terrorist and militia attacks are taking place. For example, on August 19 2022, Somalia experienced the deadliest attack since the head of state took office. According to the Ministry of Health, the group’s strike on the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu killed more than 20 people and injured about 100.
This conflict is a human development concern. Indeed, the instability has lasted so long that generations have been born into violence without knowing political equilibrium, peace, or prosperity. Somalia’s youth face few options for their future and must too often choose between being exploited or working illegally. They are often farmers or fishermen whose activity is severely constrained by the militias on land and trawlers on the sea. As a result, some go on to join militias and pirates.
Somali piracy is a major problem for international trade as it makes the passage through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait dangerous. This region represents an important crossing point that was transiting, in 2013, nearly 3.8 billion barrels of oil. Thus, it is important to end these festering threats to avoid jeopardizing the international economic balance. This is a multidimensional conflict threatening the lives of thousands of people.
Somalia is a territory that has long been divided by clan dynamics. These tensions, accentuated by disastrous colonization, have created deep territorial imbalances. These imbalances have given rise to many catastrophes, such as a civil war since 1990, major political instability, the emergence of the Al-Shabaab terrorist network, and the consolidation of the piracy network in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait and Aden Gulf region. Nevertheless, despite the worsening situation, it must be reminded that there is still hope, that many new measures have the potential for major progress, and that despite its label as a failed state, Somalia has not yet given up the ghost.
Edited by Alyana Satchu
