Somalia Research Paper

Somalia is a long, narrow country that wraps around the Horn of Africa. It has the longest coast of any African nation, bordering on both the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The inland areas are predominantly plateaus, with the exception of some rugged mountains in the far north. The northern region is more arid, whereas the southern portion of the country receives more rainfall. Many Somalis are nomadic or semi-nomadic herders, some are fishermen, and some farmers. Mogadishu is the capital and largest city. Somalia is composed of a single, homogeneous ethnic group. Although Somalis may differ in nuances of local lifestyle, they share one language, religion, and culture, and trace their heritage to a common ancestor.

Somalia gained its independence from British control in 1960, where the British relinquished control and gave Somalia to the United Nations. Somalia was governed by civilians until 1969; after which the military rebellion by General Muhammed Siad Barre took place. General Muhammed

Then, United Somalia Congress divide into multiple clans which escalate the turmoil through inter-clan warfare. Such warfare destroyed the economy, and left hundreds of thousands of Somalians to perish of starvation.

The root of the Somali pirates was established then put into motion after the Somali Civil War and the fall of the Barre regime in 1991, the last functioning government.4 Along with the government, also

As more and more foreign forces made their way into Somalia attention fell on the

Somalia is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, and the Indian Ocean to the east. With the longest coastline on the continent, its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains, and highlands. It is made up of the former British Protectorate of Somaliland and Italy’s former Trust Territory of Somalia. Somalia’s modern history began in the late 1800’s, when European powers began to trade and settle in the Somalia area. These events and the events that occurred during the 20th century helped shape the modern Somalia government and culture today.

S Foreign policy within HOA. Djibouti supports African Union and U.S. Foreign Policy efforts to eradicate the spread of Islamic extremists groups such as Al-Qaida affiliated al-Shabaab – this commitment includes providing military forces to the African Union Mission in Somalia, supporting the Transitional Federal Government in Mogadishu, Somalia. Additionally, the Djiboutian government supports USAID efforts throughout Africa by providing warehousing for the only stockpile of humanitarian aid on the African continent. (Diplomatic, Information IOP)

With the absence of Mohamed Siad Barre, the country had no proper government to run it. Faction groups started forming in Somalia to take control. In 1992, there was killing and starvation in the south of Somalia (Global Security 1). The U.N. sends peacekeeping operations into Somalia. In addition, the United States started sending troops into Somalia. In 1994, there was too much casualties in Somalia, so the U.S. soldiers withdrew from Somalia with the problems still unsolved (Phil Stewart 1). Fishermen started taking advantage of the bad condition Somalia is in and started raiding different fishing ports. The Somalians started to fight back. The Somalians began to raid and became pirates. Some observers say that the Somalians pirates are usually poor folks trying to get their fortune back (Ishaan Tharoor

In 1998, fighting began over what is said to be a minor border dispute, as well as differences on ethnicity and economic progress. This is highly understandable considering the various ethnicities in each country, the religious differences, and the tribal conflicts that have been taking place in the region. This fighting began a two-year long war, in which countless men and women were killed and the economies of the two countries ravaged by the military expenditures (Abbink, 2003, p. 410-16). In the end, Ethiopia’s size, military power, and armament won out over Eritrea’s enthusiasm, and the two countries formed a tenuous peace that has lasted through the present (Abbink, 2003, p. 416-17).

It is worth noting that Somalis are a mostly homogenous population. Specifically, they share a common language, religion (mostly Sunni Muslim, minority Shi'i) and a common historical identity. The main source of internal contention has always been disputes between the four main clan-families; the Dir, Darod, Isaaq, and Hawiye clans.(Jennifer De MaioTITLE:Managing Civil Wars: An Evaluation of Conflict-prevention Strategies in Africa ) However at this point in history, the Somali people, longing to break out from imperial rule, unified briefly under the Salihiyah tariqa, an orthodox muslim brotherhood led by Mahammad Abdille Hasan. The so-called, Dervish rebellion targeted the British and Egyptian

In 1969, General Mohamed Siad Barre carried out a military coup that made him president of the state that had recently won its independence nine years earlier. Some of Barre 's aged tactics for dealing with Somalia 's fledgling Islamist movements pushed the groups and gave them momentum. When Muslim leaders denounced reform of Somali family law, Barre executed ten prominent scholars and prosecuted hundreds more to asset his authority and to diminish the hopes of any others that might’ve felt the same. In response, "underground organizations proliferated in every region in defiance of the faith against the 'Godless socialists,” (Abdurahman M. Abdullahi.) Barre ruled for more than

“I don 't recognize my people anymore. I feel Somalia is lost. There is no Somalia. It is just a name (Abdi, 2016)”. Over the past 20 years Somalia as a country has been in turmoil and constant fighting. Today’s Somalia is still a harsh environment and the people are unforgiving as they too are trying to survive this oasis of violence. Considering Somalia in the news now we see after years of fighting and trying to support this country with food, water, and security it has progressed but not quickly. It has been a battle for any support to the country essentially taking two steps forward and one step back.

The waters outside of Somalia use to be rich in fish so unknown boats would go there to fish to make money which depleted the number of fish greatly. This started a fight between the Somalians and these unknown boaters. The Somalians fought back with guns and started capturing these boats. Doing this, they soon realized they were making a lot more money than they were making just fishing so they kept doing it and became sort of famous. The people of Somalia at first supported them because they saw them as helping protect what belonged to their people. Then things got out of hand and these fighter boats started attacking any boats not just the foreign boats. As a result, Yemenis who used to buy fish from Somalians stopped buying fish from them

The battle at Mogadishu began to help drive the Islamic extremists out of the country. Ethiopian Information Minister said “The Ethiopian government has taken self-defensive measures and started counter-attacking the aggressive extremist forces of the Islamic Courts and foreign terrorist groups." (BBC, 2006). Ethiopians ended up with majority control in the Battle at Mogadishu with the help of the United States leadership. This was accomplished with the 8,000 Ethiopian troops going against the Islamic extremists who had the help of 2,000 Eritrea. The Ethiopian forces were withdrawn from Somalia on 26 October 2008.

Somalia is a country situated in the ÒhornÓ of East Africa. It is bordered by the Gulf of Aden in the north, the Indian Ocean on the east and southeast, Kenya in the southwest, Ethiopia in the west, and Djibouti in the northwest. Somalia is about four times the size of the State of Minnesota, or slightly smaller than Texas. The capital is Mogadishu.