The
Somali Civil Unrest
Background
Early
European explorers and writers described Somali as a geographical region
occupied by people of mixed descent. According to these people, the Somalis
were a mixed race of African and Arab origin. Prolonged interests into the Horn
of Africa made them learn that actually, the Somalis were pure Africans in race, but with Islamic beliefs. Despite the
fact that intermarriages between the Arabs and the indigenous Somali people
occurred, the country remains mostly inhabited by people of the African race.
Somalis are mainly homogenous despite the little presence of Bantus, Arabs, and Baravans,
especially along the country’s coastline.[1]
"Portuguese Exploration Routes". Digital Image. Teaching History with 100 Objects. Accessed March 6,2017.https://www.teachinghistory100.org |
The Somalis have maintained their traditional political and socioeconomic organization structure where people are
organized into clans. The clans form the core political unit, and every socioeconomic and political
decision is supposed to be made based on that alignment. Before the advent of colonialism, there was
nothing like a single geopolitical state of Somali. These marriages of
conveniences only occurred after colonialism where different clans in the Horn
of Africa were forced to merge into one bureaucratic state. Therefore, Somalis
have long used traditional methods of solving conflicts, including the use of traditional laws (Heers) and Islamic
laws (Sharia). The fact that Somalis are largely
a pastoralist community living in an arid area makes these traditional ways of
conflict solving crucial. Natural resources such as pastures and water are shared according to consensuses reached by
representatives of various clans occupying a single geographical area.
Effects of Colonization on Somali
Unrest
"Political European Colonization Cartoon". Digital Image. April 19,2014.Accessed March 6,2016.http://hornofafrica.de |
After
Italy was defeated in the Second World
War, it could not support the additional expenses of running Somalia as its
colony. Somalia was put under trusteeship
for about ten years. After colonization,
these parts of the country were given to
Ethiopia and Kenya by the British and French forces. This, among other factors, mobilized the Somalis to fight to regain
their lost regions from their neighboring countries, further straining their
limited resources. Of significant note is the war between Somalia and Ethiopia
in 1977 over the Ogaden region, which cost the developing
country its resources. Therefore, Somalia started the process of
national healing on a disadvantaged note, setting the stage for further
conflicts to control the remaining limited resource.[3]
"Greater Somalia"
FAH1223(Own work)[Public Domain],via Wikimedia Commonshttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greater_Somalia1.jpg
|
In
1960, both the Northern and Southern Somalia gained independence. Despite their
differences, the two regions decided to unite into a central democratic
republic between 1960 and 1969. During this period, the Somali Youth League, a political outfit that had played a
core role in fighting for the country’s independence, formed the major
political party. Other numerous political parties represented the diversity and
interests of the many clans in the region. This
too added momentum to the level of conflict because most of the
political parties represented the specific and selfish interests of individual
clans.
Geographical Location and the Somali
Unrest
Somalia
is largely a desert country. Before urbanization, water and pasture were
considered scarce and important natural resources in this region. The most
powerful clans identified and guarded most of these natural resources. Clanism
has since haunted credible leadership in Somalia, whereby civilian leaders
employ nepotism in the distribution of
employment opportunities and education.[4]
Somalia
has two neighbors, Kenya and Ethiopia. For many years, these two nations have
benefitted from the unrest in the region. It is therefore in their interest
that a unified Somalia Republic fails to
materialize for their selfish gain.[5]
Ethiopia has had a significant presence in Somalia since the pre-colonial era
due to their collaboration with the colonial superpowers. Ethiopia, being a
landlocked country, would benefit primarily from a disintegrated Somaliland
that could allow it access to the coast. Ethiopia's trade interaction with
European and Asian trading partners has little to help the situation. The Cairo
and Arta conferences are good examples of how foreign meddling has played a
part in prolonging the conflict.[6]
The Ethiopians had a hand in convincing General Aden Abdullahi Noor and Colonel
Abdullahi Yusuf to reject the peace treaty signed in Cairo.
Effect of the Cold War
shelter.
MAXAMUD JIGRE ADAN. “Somalia VS Ethiopia war 1977”. Filmed [May 2010]. YouTube
video, 04:37. Posted [May 2010]https://www.youtube.com/watch=zexThNmXyEI
Therefore, the Somalis concentrated on the war, leading to the abandonment of other economic viable activities.[8] This led to further pressure on the limited resources. Somalia was later included in the Soviet’s communist plan, which was strengthened by Siad Barre’s coup that turned Somalia from a democratic state into a socialist state.[9]
After
the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, global polarization reduced. The US
dropped any real interest in Somali, allowing the locals to remain with the
advanced arms and military knowledge. Several clans formed militia group that
fought other clans as well as the military regime of Siad Barre. After the US
officially suspended its financial and military aid, major vulnerabilities in
the government and the nation in general surfaced. A report after the war
showed that most Somalia households had more US-made weapons than food.[12]
In
conclusion, by taking into consideration the above explanations, it is clear that the rivalries between the European
powers played a major role in the Somali unrest for years. The European forces
were able to manipulate neighboring African governments such as Kenya and
Ethiopia to contribute to the region’s
unrest.
Kai Brown.
“HIWD Final Presentation”. Filmed [March 2017]. YouTube video, 09:01. Posted
[March 2017]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPx-D8VjAIM&feature=youtu.be.
Cassanelli, Lee. "The opportunistic
economies of the Kenya-Somali borderland
in historical perspective." Borders and Borderlands as Resources
in the Horn of Africa (2010): 133-150.
Doornbos, Martin, Lionel Cliffe, Abdel Ghaffar
M. Ahmed, and John Markakis. "Beyond conflict
in the Horn: Prospects for peace, recovery
and development in Ethiopia, Somalia and the Sudan." (1992).
Durch, William J., and Barry M. Blechman. Keeping the Peace: The United Nations in the Emerging
World Order. The Henry L.
Stimson Center, 1992.
Gale Group. History behind the headlines: the origins of conflicts worldwide.
Vol. 6. Gale Group, 2003.
King, Gerbian,
and Vanessa Lawrence. "Africa, a continent in crisis: The economic and
social implications of civil war and unrest among African nations."
(2005).
Little, Peter D. Somalia: Economy
without state. Indiana University
Press, 2003.
Marchal, Roland. "Islamic political
dynamics in the Somali civil war." Islam in Africa South of the
Sahara: Essays in gender relations and
political reform 331 (2013).
Moore, Patrick S., Anthony A. Marfin, Lynn E.
Quenemoen, Bradford D. Gessner, Daniel S. Miller, Michael J. Toole, Y. S. Ayub,
and Kevin M. Sullivan. "Mortality rates in displaced and resident
populations of central Somalia during 1992 famine." The Lancet 341,
no. 8850 (1993): 935-938.
Razack, Sherene. Dark threats and white
knights: The Somalia affair, peacekeeping, and the new imperialism.
University of Toronto Press, 2004.
[1] Baier, Erica, I. A. Adel, and Water
Scarcity. "Hope in Somalia, One Drop at A Time."
[2] Besteman, Catherine, and Lee V.
Cassanelli. "Struggle for land in Southern Somalia; The war behind the
war." (2000).
[3] King, Gerbian, and Vanessa Lawrence.
"Africa, a continent in crisis: The economic and social implications of
civil war and unrest among African nations." (2005).
[4] Moore, Patrick S., Anthony A. Marfin,
Lynn E. Quenemoen, Bradford D. Gessner, Daniel S. Miller, Michael J. Toole, Y.
S. Ayub, and Kevin M. Sullivan. "Mortality rates in displaced and resident
populations of central Somalia during 1992 famine." The Lancet 341,
no. 8850 (1993): 935-938.
[5] Cassanelli, Lee. "The opportunistic
economies of the Kenya-Somali borderland in historical perspective." Borders
and Borderlands as Resources in the Horn of Africa (2010): 133-150.
[6] Razack, Sherene. Dark threats
and white knights: The Somalia affair, peacekeeping, and the new imperialism.
University of Toronto Press, 2004.
[7] Marchal, Roland. "Islamic political
dynamics in the Somali civil war." Islam in Africa South of the
Sahara: Essays in gender relations and political reform 331 (2013).
[8] Durch, William J., and Barry M.
Blechman. Keeping the Peace: The United Nations in the Emerging World
Order. The Henry L. Stimson Center, 1992.
[9] Marchal, Roland. "Islamic political
dynamics in the Somali civil war." Islam in Africa South of the
Sahara: Essays in gender relations and political reform 331 (2013).
[10] Gale Group. History behind the
headlines: the origins of conflicts worldwide. Vol. 6. Gale Group, 2003.
[11] Doornbos, Martin, Lionel Cliffe, Abdel
Ghaffar M. Ahmed, and John Markakis. "Beyond conflict in the Horn:
Prospects for peace, recovery and development in Ethiopia, Somalia and the
Sudan." (1992).
[12] Little, Peter D. Somalia:
Economy without state. Indiana University Press, 2003.