war in somalia

K'NAAN - Somalia

2010-04-17T05:58:00.000-07:00

Somalia Civil War

2010-04-16T23:17:00.000-07:00

There is no national government in Somalia. While parts of the north are relatively peaceful, including much of the self-declared "Republic of Somaliland," interclan and interfactional fighting can flare up with little warning, and kidnapping, murder and other threats to foreigners can occur unpredictably in many regions.

The Somali Republic gained independence on July 1, 1960. Somalia was formed by the union of British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland, while French Somaliland became Djibouti. A socialist state was established following a coup led by Major General Muhammad Siad Barre. Rebel forces ousted the Barre regime in 1991, but turmoil, factional fighting, and anarchy ensued. The Somali National Movement (SNM) gained control of the north, while in the capital of Mogadishu and most of southern Somalia the United Somali Congress achieved control. Somalia has been without a stable central government since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre fled the country in 1991.

Subsequent fighting among rival faction leaders resulted in the killing, dislocation, and starvation of thousands of Somalis and led the United Nations to intervene militarily in 1992. In 1992, responding to the political chaos and humanitarian disaster in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched peacekeeping operations to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to the Somali people. By March 1993, the potential for mass starvation in Somalia had been overcome, but the security situation remained fragile. On October 3, 1993 U.S. troops received significant causalities (19 dead over 80 others wounded) in a battle with Somali gunmen. When the United States (in 1994) and the UN withdrew (in 1995) their forces from Somalia, after suffering significant casualties, order still had not been restored.

Conflict between rival warlords and their factions continued throughout the 1990s. No stable government emerged to take control of the country. The UN assisted Somalia somewhat with food aid but did not send peacekeeping troops into the country. In the late 1990s, relative calm began to emerge and economic development accelerated somewhat. The country was by no means stable, but it was improving. A transitional government emerged in 2000 but soon lost power. Somaliland and Puntland, two regions in the north broke away from the country and set up regional, semi-autonomous governments. They are not internationally recognized.

After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States began to take a more active role in Somalia's affairs, fearing that the country had become a haven for terrorists. Other Western governments hoped to bring stability to Somalia for similar reasons. In January 2004, two dozen or so warlords reached a power-sharing agreement after talks in Kenya. This agreement called for a 275-member parliament. This Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was the 14th attempt at a government since 1991. Its head, Abdullah Yusuf originally called for African peacekeepers to restore order within Somalia but many Somalis

Somalia Civil War

2010-04-16T23:14:00.000-07:00

Somalia Civil War

force involved

2010-04-07T01:57:00.000-07:00

Forces involved are difficult to calculate because of many factors, including lack of formal organization or record-keeping, and claims which remained masked by disinformation. Ethiopia for months leading up to the war maintained it had only a few hundred advisors in the country. Yet independent reports indicated far more troops. According to the BBC, "The United Nations estimated that at least 8,000 Ethiopian troops may be in the country while the AP suggests the number closer to 12-15,000,^[1] while regional rival Eritrea has deployed some 2,000 troops in support of the Islamic group."^[2] Ethiopia only admitted to 3,000–4,000 being involved,^[3] though the ICU claimed the Ethiopians had 30,000 troops,^[4] while Eritrea denies having any troops in Somalia.^[5] In addition, the TFG alleged there were up to 8,000 foreign mujahideen fighting on behalf of the ICU, based on the ICU's worldwide appeal for Muslim mujahideen to come fight for their cause.^[6] Somali government troops and allied militias are estimated to be roughly 10,000.^[7]

Somalia's Use of Child Soldiers

2010-04-07T01:20:00.000-07:00

The use of child soldiers in Somalia is widespread. In the ongoing conflict, children are used for a wide variety of reasons. It is estimated that over 200,000 Somali children have carried a gun or have been involved in a factional conflict at some point in their lives. It is not rare to see boys as young as 14 in a militia attack or accompanying older soldiers.

The UN has continuously noted the presence of teenagers carrying weapons riding with other armed men in aircraft or other vehicles. It is estimated that five percent of all of Somalia’s children have participated in marauding gangs, militia attacks, or other military conflicts. In the bodies of power that reside in Somalia, there are no limitations on army recruitment age. Child soldiers are also routinely used as suicide bombers and mine detectors, as the country’s land is laced with dozens of unknown bombs waiting to explode and take the lives of innocent civilians away.
Me Against My Brother At War in Somalia Sudan and Rwanda

Somali Child Health Days go nationwide for the first time

2009-09-18T05:55:00.000-07:00

Iman Morooka, UNICEF

WAJID, Southern Somalia (April 2, 2009) — For the first time ever in Somalia, a Child Health Days campaign has been implemented nationwide by UNICEF, the World Health Organization, local authorities, communities and non–governmental © UNICEF Somalia/2009
A Somali child receives a lifesaving vaccination

as part of the country's first nationwide Child

Health Days campaign.partners.

In a country where routine immunization coverage is low and basic health care services are scarce, this large–scale health outreach targets every child under five with immunization against measles, polio, diphtheria, pertusis and tetanus.
The child survival package also includes vitamin A supplements, de–worming tablets, oral rehydration salts to treat diarrhea ,and water treatment tablets. Women of child–bearing age are vaccinated against tetanus, which can strike mother and newborn children if birthing conditions are not hygienic.

2009-09-18T05:49:00.000-07:00

Early years

© UNICEF Somalia/01-162-Taylor
Somalia has some of the lowest enrolment rates in the world. Alot needs to be done to boost the enrolment of girls like this one.
Somalia – one of the harshest places on the planet, an extreme environment that presents huge challenges to its people just in terms of simple survival. The combination of a hostile, predominantly arid environment, difficult terrain with settlements scattered over vast distances, the legacy of a nomadic way of life and a civil conflict that has shattered social structures and exacerbated poverty add up to mean that a Somali child’s chances of surviving to adulthood are among the lowest of children anywhere in the world. Add to this the fact that the odds of the child’s mother dying during pregnancy or in childbirth are also extremely high. These high death rates stem from the interaction of a number of causes set within a complex socio-political context , but are largely attributable to disease, dehydration, malnutrition, lack of safe water, and poor sanitation.
Diarrhoeal disease-related dehydration, respiratory infections and malaria are the main killers of infants and young children, together accounting for more than half of all child deaths. Cholera is endemic in Somalia, with the threat of outbreaks recurring annually during the “season” from December to May, when in many crowded communities the pre-conditions are set as a result of critical water shortage.The major underlying causes of diarrhoea are the lack of access to safe water, and poor food and domestic hygiene.
Malnutrition is a chronic problem in all areas, and becomes acute when areas are struck by drought or flood, or where localized conflict flares up, scattering populations. A persistent shortage of food (mainly due to successive droughts and conflicts), low quality diet, poor feeding practices and inadequate home management practices contribute to many children being inadequately nourished.
© UNICEF Somalia/02-09-Taylor

One of the greatest hinderances to girls' enrolment is that traditionally they assist their mothers in bearing the burden of domestic labour and are often sent to work to generate income for the family.
Neonatal tetanus and other birth-related problems are a further cause of many infant deaths, while measles and its complications result in widespread illness. Immunization coverage is not yet sufficient to prevent measles outbreaks. Susceptibility to measles is compounded by poor nutrition and transmission is rapid where living conditions are crowded, resulting in a high death rate. Though data are lacking, Somalia is among
countries with the highest incidence of tuberculosis in the world. Overcrowded conditions in camps where many displaced people are living , general lack of treatment facilities, poor quality drugs and malnutrition keep tuberculosis as one of the country’s main killer diseases.
Inadequate water and sanitation provision cost lives
Lack of access to safe water is a striking feature in almost all parts of Somalia. Probably less than 1 in every 3 households (29 per cent of the population) uses an improved drinking water source. A result of erratic rainfall patterns which are responsible for both droughts and floods, this climatic causation has been compounded by the destruction and looting of water supply installations during the civil war, by depredation during continuing conflicts, and through the general lack of maintenance of existing infrastructure.
Only 37 per cent of the population of Somalia have access to adequate sanitation. Poor hygiene and environmental sanitation are major causes of diseases such as cholera among children and women. The impact of poor environmental sanitation is particularly felt in the cities, towns, large villages, and other places where people are living in close proximity to each other with waste disposal adjacent to dwellings. Lack of garbage collection facilities is another factor affecting the urban environment and polluting water sources, along with the proliferation of plastic refuse bags.
Progress
Some dynamic progress has however been made in the field of health. Somalia has stepped up its polio eradication drive as part of the global polio eradication effort. No cases of the wild polio virus have been reported since 25 March 2007.