Somalia’s problems are getting worse day by day and there is a widespread belief that the war-ravaged country in the Horn of Africa would not be able to withstand the humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding in front of the civilized world. Since Ethiopian troops entered Somalia with the help of the UN and the US and ousted the radical Islamists from the country, things have hardly looked forward.
In fact the current situation is far more dangerous with an increased level of coordinated and sophisticated Islamist insurgency taking shape against Ethiopian forces and African Union peace keepers.
The humanitarian cost in the continuous anarchy is immense. According to UN estimates, around 500,000 Somali people have fled the violence from the capital Mogadishu alone this year and hundreds get killed or injured in the crossfire in the streets of the capital city.
As Somalia’s roads are badly maintained and often remain closed due to heavy fighting, UN aid can hardly get through the international borders. The only way that aid gets into the impoverished country is through sea but that also has suffered immense losses due to piracy along the Somali coast.
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According to analysts, the Ethiopian involvement in Somalia might have escalated the conflict. Although the brief rule of the Islamic courts in Somalia was hardly peaceful, but there was a semblance of stability in the warlord-infested country. Infact the radical Islamists had been able to give the Somali people a national recognition for the first time since 1991.
However, as of now, having been pushed back by the Ethiopia-backed Transitional Federal Govt. (TFG) forces, the radical Islamic group has resorted to Iraqi-style insurgency to increase its influence across the country. The ordinary Somali people are also fed up of the lack of cohesion and vision shown by the TFG in bringing stability to their country. There is a growing feeling that if this anarchy continues, the Islamists would gain popularity among the people which would help them in regaining the lost territories.
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Reports from the ground suggest that the warlords, belonging to the TFG, (these warlords are former drug-dealers thrown out by the hardliner Islamic courts) rule the Somali localities using policies more terrifying compared to the radicals. The Ethiopian role in the country is also viewed cautiously.
The United States has used Adis Ababa in preventing Al-Qaeda getting a strangle hold of the Horn of Africa although there has been no proof of any Al-Qaeda involvement in the conflict. Infact the situation has taken a wider perspective which is of great concern to the international community.
Eritrea, Ethiopia’s bitter rivals, is providing military and moral support to the Islamists to counter the influence of Adis Ababa. The concern in the region is that the Somali conflict is now taking shape into a proxy war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. One hopeful way to tackle the situation is to send a massive African Union force (soldiers should be from highly experienced countries such as Egypt, South Africa, Kenya and Morocco) in order to stabilize and reconstruct Somalia.
Furthermore, negotiations warring factions should be encouraged under the watchful eyes of the AU, UN and to some extent Arab League which can influence the radical Islamists. But for now, the main concern is to provide relief to the impoverished and displaced people of Somalia and adequate international funds should be allocated regarding this.
Link: Guardian
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