The Conflict Between Kenya And Somalia Essay

This fact led to successive Somali leaders since independence, to claim that the territories in which the ethnic Somalis live, are indeed part of Somalia. Solomon argues that the urge to unite all five Somali speaking territories (the other two are British Somaliland, and Italian Somaliland) into one country, led to what was referred to as the shifta war with Kenya from 1963 to 1967 (p353, 2014) Identity played a significant role in causing an all-out guerrilla warfare in the North eastern part of Kenya by Somalia, using the narrative that they are trying to “unite’ its people. In his journal on the examination of Kenya-Somalia relations, Donovan Chau argues that Somalia has been championing for the control of Somali-speaking region of Kenya from the British colonialists even before independence (p68, 2010). In his argument it is clear that Somalia’s claim had been influenced by the fact that the community living across the border have Somali identity. He claims the idea by Mohammed Abdille Hassan in the years between 1899 and 1920, was to unify all the Somali speaking in the region under one Islamic country (p68). “The political goals of the new wars are about the claims to power on the basis of seemingly traditional identities - nation, tribe, religion (Kaldor, p72, 2007). Somalia had two of those claims - tribe and religion, and

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

Somalia has been a land of strife since its modern history began in the early 1900’s, when British rule was challenged through constant attacks led by Mohammad Abdullah, AKA “Mad Mullah”, a folk hero amongst modern day Somalis (African Affairs, 2011). Conflict in Somalia continues to thrive thanks in large part to the terrorist group Al Shabaab (“the youth” in Arabic), a radical Islamic based organization that maintains control over a large portion of the central and southern part of the country. Al Shabaab has ties to Al Qaeda (AQ) with the main goal of installing a fundamentalist Islamist government in Somalia and is conducting an insurgency against both the UN-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the African Union

- Somalis are aware of foreigner and the fear of possible renewed colonization because of past colonization with the British, French, and Italians

Conflicts within the nation of Somalia were sometimes planned as a means to an end. Whereby the United States Government supported a certain regime before they used their power to gain control of the situation and overthrow the tyrant. In other cases the use of national power was used such as the Islamic Courts Union to gain control over Somalia by implementing logical line of operations by providing the people their needs and services to gain their trust. In these situations it would be considered as an irregular warfare environment, because they were violent struggles

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.

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

The United Nations began to send food and supplies, via peacekeepers, to the people of Somalia. These UN workers would get shot at, and their supplies taken.

Affirmation of Somaliland is crucial because the encouragement of African action should not become the basis for inaction on the part of the United States. Jendayi Frazer, in her report on “Somaliland: Time for African Union Leadership,” states that the United States would recognize Somaliland if the others acted first. But Somaliland deserves recognition from a purely U.S.-centric national security perspective. The United States has always stood to protect the values that it was founded upon. Somaliland, in its entirety fits this impression. The Somaliland government and population embody a moderate voice in the Muslim world that rejects radical interpretations of Islam, including that espoused by the Council of Somali Islamic Courts currently in control. It would serve as a bulwark against the further expansion of radical ideologies in the Horn of Africa by offering a brilliant case of how

“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.

Somalia has had a long and variegated history, marked by the rise and fall of Empire. Beginning in the late 19th century, the major Western imperial powers began to occupy and divide Somali territory, which is located in the Horn of Africa. The independent Republic of Somalia was formed in 1960 when the British and the Italians withdrew. But though the foreign powers had left, there remained an important reminder of the oppression of imperialism: the state. Beginning in the 7th century, the Somali tribes in the Horn of Africa had developed a complex oral legal system, which operated in a polycentric way: that is, it guaranteed the autonomy of the different Somali clans without any unifying state actor. Yet at the same time, this system, the Xeer, allowed room for conflict resolution and restitution. As a result, the culture of independence among the Somalis meant that one tribe would never be content to be ruled by another—the transitional government created strife as each tribe sought to use it as a means to control the others. In 1991, the Somalis took apart their government and began their modern period of semi-anarchy (with the remnants of the government being propped up by an international coalition desperate to impose their imperialistic mindset on the indigenous culture)—which was also marked with a resurgence of extra-governmental conflict resolution

With a long history of violence, rebellion, and chaos, the African country of Somalia now seeks guidance. The country’s violent past started when military forces overthrew the last democratically elected government in October 1969, about 37 years ago. Military rule undermined, and ultimately destroyed the country. The military regime divided citizens into allies and enemies, and rewarded its allies while it punished whole communities. Life conditions in Somalia became so unbearable that the President Bush, Sr. was forced to act, and ordered thousands of American troops to enter Somalia in order to open the roads so that emergency food aid could be urgently delivered to the citizens.

Somalia is a small country in the eastern part of Africa, known as “The Horn of Africa”. According to the CIA World Factbook (2016), Somalia has a population of roughly 10.4 million, and 85 percent of people are Somali. Additionally, a significant part of the population is Muslim, (CIA World Factbook, 2016), whom have contributed to the current conflict. In this report, we analyze the recent violent conflict and U.S. intervention in Somalia.

The country’s worst violence outbreak in 10 years occurred in May 2006 as Islamist militia began to battle Somali warlords. The Islamist militia gained control of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, and went on to establish control in a majority of the south. The government attempted peace negotiations with the Islamic Courts Council, but was

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).