Somalia
Somalia is located on the east coast of Africa on and north of the
Equator and, with Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Kenya, is often
referred to as the Horn of Africa. It comprises Italy's former Trust
Territory of Somalia and the former British Protectorate of
Somaliland (now seeking recognition as an independent state). The
coastline extends 2,720 kilometers (1,700 mi.).
The northern part of the country is hilly, and in many places the
altitude ranges between 900 and 2,100 meters (3,000 ft.-7,000 ft.)
above sea level. The central and southern areas are flat, with an
average altitude of less than 180 meters (600 ft.). The Juba and the
Shabelle Rivers rise in Ethiopia and flow south across the country
toward the Indian Ocean. The Shabelle, however, does not reach the
sea.
Major climatic factors are a year-round hot climate, seasonal
monsoon winds, and irregular rainfall with recurring droughts. Mean
daily maximum temperatures range from 30oC to 40oC (85o F-105oF),
except at higher elevations and along the east coast. Mean daily
minimums usually vary from about 15oC to 30oC (60oF-85oF). The
southwest monsoon, a sea breeze, makes the period from about May to
October the mildest season in Somalia. The December-February period
of the northeast monsoon also is relatively mild, although
prevailing climatic conditions in Somalia are rarely pleasant. The "tangambili"
periods that intervene between the two rainy seasons
(October-November and March-May) are hot and humid.
The Cushitic populations of the Somali Coast in the Horn of Africa
have an ancient history. Known by ancient Arabs as the Berberi,
archaeological evidence indicates their presence in the Horn of
Africa by A.D. 100 and possibly earlier. As early as the seventh
century A.D., the indigenous Cushitic peoples began to mingle with
Arab and Persian traders who had settled along the coast.
Interaction over the centuries led to the emergence of a Somali
culture bound by common traditions, a single language, and the
Islamic faith.
The Somali-populated region of the Horn of Africa stretches from the
Gulf of Tadjoura in modern-day Djibouti through Dire Dawa, Ethiopia,
and down to the coastal regions of southern Kenya. Unlike many
countries in Africa, the Somali nation extends beyond its national
borders. Since gaining independence in 1960, the goal of Somali
nationalism, also known as Pan-Somalism, has been the unification of
all Somali populations, forming a Greater Somalia. This issue has
been a major cause of past crises between Somalia and its
neighbors--Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti.
Today, about 60% of all Somalis are nomadic or semi-nomadic
pastoralists who raise cattle, camels, sheep, and goats. About 25%
of the population is settled farmers who live mainly in the fertile
agricultural zone between the Juba and Shabelle Rivers in southern
Somalia. The remainder of the population (15%-20%) is urban.
Sizable ethnic groups in the country include Bantu agricultural
workers, several thousand Arabs and some hundreds of Indians and
Pakistanis. Nearly all inhabitants speak the Somali language, which
remained unwritten until October 1973, when the Supreme
Revolutionary Council (SRC) proclaimed it the nation's official
language and decreed an orthography using Latin letters. Somali is
now the language of instruction in schools, although Arabic,
English, and Italian also are used extensively. |
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Early history traces the development of the Somali state to an Arab
sultanate, which was founded in the seventh century A.D. by
Koreishite immigrants from Yemen. During the 15th and 16th
centuries, Portuguese traders landed in present Somali territory and
ruled several coastal towns. The sultan of Oman and Zanzibar
subsequently took control of these towns and their surrounding
territory.
Somalia's modern history began in the late 19th century, when
various European powers began to trade and establish themselves in
the area. The British East India Company's desire for unrestricted
harbor facilities led to the conclusion of treaties with the sultan
of Tajura as early as 1840. It was not until 1886, however, that the
British gained control over northern Somalia through treaties with
various Somali chiefs who were guaranteed British protection.
British objectives centered on safeguarding trade links to the east
and securing local sources of food and provisions for its coaling
station in Aden. The boundary between Ethiopia and British
Somaliland was established in 1897 through treaty negotiations
between British negotiators and King Menelik.
During the first two decades of this century, British rule was
challenged through persistent attacks by a dervish rebellion led by
Mohamed Abdullah, known as the "Mad Mullah" by the British. A long
series of intermittent engagements and truces ended in 1920 when
British warplanes bombed Abdullah's stronghold at Taleex. Although
Abdullah was defeated as much by rival Somali factions as by British
forces, he was lauded as a popular hero and stands as a major figure
of national identity to many Somalis.
In 1885, Italy obtained commercial advantages in the area from the
sultan of Zanzibar and in 1889 concluded agreements with the sultans
of Obbia and Aluula, who placed their territories under Italy's
protection. Between 1897 and 1908, Italy made agreements with the
Ethiopians and the British that marked out the boundaries of Italian
Somaliland. The Italian Government assumed direct administration,
giving the territory colonial status.
Italian occupation gradually extended inland. In 1924, the Jubaland
Province of Kenya, including the town and port of Kismayo, was ceded
to Italy by the United Kingdom. The subjugation and occupation of
the independent sultanates of Obbia and Mijertein, begun in 1925,
were completed in 1927. In the late 1920s, Italian and Somali
influence expanded into the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia.
Continuing incursions climaxed in 1935 when Italian forces launched
an offensive that led to the capture of Addis Ababa and the Italian
annexation of Ethiopia in 1936.
Following Italy's declaration of war on the United Kingdom in June
1940, Italian troops overran British Somaliland and drove out the
British garrison. In 1941, British forces began operations against
the Italian East African Empire and quickly brought the greater part
of Italian Somaliland under British control. From 1941 to 1950,
while Somalia was under British military administration, transition
toward self-government was begun through the establishment of local
courts, planning committees, and the Protectorate Advisory Council.
In 1948 Britain turned the Ogaden and neighboring Somali territories
over to Ethiopia.
In Article 23 of the 1947 peace treaty, Italy renounced all rights
and titles to Italian Somaliland. In accordance with treaty
stipulations, on September 15, 1948, the Four Powers referred the
question of disposal of former Italian colonies to the UN General
Assembly. On November 21, 1949, the General Assembly adopted a
resolution recommending that Italian Somaliland be placed under an
international trusteeship system for 10 years, with Italy as the
administering authority, followed by independence for Italian
Somaliland. In 1959, at the request of the Somali Government, the UN
General Assembly advanced the date of independence from December 2
to July 1, 1960.
Meanwhile, rapid progress toward self-government was being made in
British Somaliland. Elections for the Legislative Assembly were held
in February 1960, and one of the first acts of the new legislature
was to request that the United Kingdom grant the area independence
so that it could be united with Italian Somaliland when the latter
became independent. The protectorate became independent on June 26,
1960; five days later, on July 1, it joined Italian Somaliland to
form the Somali Republic.
In June 1961, Somalia adopted its first national constitution in a
countrywide referendum, which provided for a democratic state with a
parliamentary form of government based on European models. During
the early post-independence period, political parties were a fluid
concept, with one-person political parties forming before an
election, only to defect to the winning party following the
election. A constitutional conference in Mogadishu in April 1960,
which made the system of government in the southern Somali trust
territory the basis for the future government structure of the
Somali Republic, resulted in the concentration of political power in
the former Italian Somalia capital of Mogadishu and a
southern-dominated central government, with most key government
positions occupied by southern Somalis, producing increased
disenchantment with the union in the former British-controlled
north. Pan-Somali nationalism, with the goal of uniting the
Somali-populated regions of French Somaliland (Djibouti), Kenya and
Ethiopia into a Greater Somalia, remained the driving political
ideology in the initial post-independence period. Under the
leadership of Mohamed Ibrahim Egal (prime minister from 1967 to
1969), however, Somalia renounced its claims to the Somali-populated
regions of Ethiopia and Kenya, greatly improving its relations with
both countries. Egal attempted a similar approach with Ethiopia, but
the move towards reconciliation with Ethiopia, which had been a
traditional enemy of Somalia since the 16th century, made many
Somalis furious, including the army. Egal's reconciliation effort
toward Ethiopia is argued to be one of the principal factors that
provoked a bloodless coup on October 21, 1969 and subsequent
installation of Maj. Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre as president, bringing
an abrupt end to the process of party-based constitutional democracy
in Somalia.
Following the coup, executive and legislative power was vested in
the 20-member Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC), headed by Barre.
The SRC pursued a course of "scientific socialism" that reflected
both ideological and economic dependence on the Soviet Union. The
government instituted a national security service, centralized
control over information, and initiated a number of grassroots
development projects. Barre reduced political freedoms and used
military force to seize and redistribute rich farmlands in the
interriverine areas of southern Somalia, relying on the use of force
and terror against the Somali population to consolidate his
political power base.
The SRC became increasingly radical in foreign affairs, and in 1974,
Somalia and the Soviet Union concluded a treaty of friendship and
cooperation. As early as 1972, tensions began increasing along the
Somali-Ethiopian border; these tensions heightened after the
accession to power in Ethiopia in 1973 of the Mengistu Haile Mariam
regime, which turned increasingly toward the Soviet Union. In the
mid-1970s, the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) began
guerrilla operations in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. Following the
overthrow of the Ethiopian Emperor in 1975, Somalia invaded Ethiopia
in 1977 in a second attempt to regain the Ogaden, and the second
attempt initially appeared to be in Somalia's favor. The SNA moved
quickly toward Harer, Jijiga, and Dire Dawa, the principal cities of
the region. However, following the Ethiopian revolution, the new
Ethiopian government shifted its alliance from the West to the
Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union supplied Ethiopia with
10,000-15,000 Cuban troops and Soviet military advisors during the
1977-78 Ogaden war, shifting the advantage to Ethiopia and resulting
in Somalia's defeat. In November 1977, Barre expelled all Soviet
advisers and abrogated the friendship agreement with the U.S.S.R. In
March 1978, Somali forces retreated into Somalia; however, the WSLF
continued to carry out sporadic but greatly reduced guerrilla
activity in the Ogaden. Such activities also were subsequently
undertaken by another dissident group, the Ogaden National
Liberation Front (ONLF).
Following the 1977-1978 Ogaden war, desperate to find a strong
external alliance to replace the Soviet Union, Somalia abandoned its
Socialist ideology and turned to the West for international support,
military equipment, and economic aid. In 1978, the United States
reopened the U.S. Agency for International Development mission in
Somalia. Two years later, an agreement was concluded that gave U.S.
forces access to military facilities at the port of Berbera in
northwestern Somalia. In the summer of 1982, Ethiopian forces
invaded Somalia along the central border, and the United States
provided two emergency airlifts to help Somalia defend its
territorial integrity. From 1982 to 1988, the United States viewed
Somalia as a partner in defense in the context of the Cold War.
Somali officers of the National Armed Forces were trained in U.S.
military schools in civilian as well as military subjects.
Following the Ogaden war, the Barre regime violently suppressed
opposition movements and ethnic groups, particularly the Isaaq clan
in the northern region, using the military and elite security forces
to quash any hint of rebellion. By the 1980s, an all-out civil war
developed in Somalia. Opposition groups began to form following the
end of the Ogaden war, beginning in 1979 with a group of
dissatisfied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic
Front (SSDF). In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent
with the Barre regime, the Somali National Movement (SNM), composed
mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated
goal of overthrowing of the Barre regime. In January 1989, the
United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group of Somalis from
the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A
military wing of the USC was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under
the leadership of Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a former political
prisoner imprisoned by Barre from 1969-75. Aideed also formed
alliances with other opposition groups, including the SNM and the
Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Ogadeen sub-clan force under
Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern
Somalia. In 1988, at the President's order, aircraft from the Somali
National Air Force bombed the city of Hargeisa in northwestern
Somalia, the former capital of British Somaliland, killing nearly
10,000 civilians and insurgents. The warfare in the northwest sped
up the decay already evident elsewhere in the republic. Economic
crisis, brought on by the cost of anti-insurgency activities, caused
further hardship as Siad Barre and his cronies looted the national
treasury.
By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre's government,
fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central
and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their
homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and
Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their
respective clan militia. Barre's effective territorial control was
reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in
the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from
the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the
final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of
December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM
forces advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed opposition
factions drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete
collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in
Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread
deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United
States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the
Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an
environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis
suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes--one manmade and one
natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in
Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both
operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew.
Following the collapse of the Barre regime in 1991, various
groupings of Somali factions sought to control the national
territory (or portions thereof) and fought small wars with one
another. Approximately 14 national reconciliation conferences were
convened over the succeeding decade. Efforts at mediation of the
Somali internal dispute were also undertaken by many regional
states. In the mid-1990s, Ethiopia played host to several Somali
peace conferences and initiated talks at the Ethiopian city of
Sodere, which led to some degree of agreement between competing
factions. The Governments of Egypt, Yemen, Kenya, and Italy also
have attempted to bring the Somali factions together. In 1997, the
Organization of African Unity and the Intergovernmental Authority on
Development (IGAD) gave Ethiopia the mandate to pursue Somali
reconciliation. In 2000, Djibouti hosted a major reconciliation
conference (the 13th such effort), which in August resulted in
creation of the Transitional National Government (TNG), whose 3-year
mandate expired in August 2003. The absence of a central government
in Somalia also allowed outside forces to become more influential by
supporting various groups and persons in Somalia, particularly
Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Egypt, Yemen, and Libya, all of which
have supported various Somali factions and transitional governments. |
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