Somalia Internal Conflict: A Threat to Security in the Horn of Africa
Somalia serves as an example of a country that is a threat to international peace and security. It has been in conflict and without a central government for over sixteen years. Somalia has been engulfed in confusion arising from factional-clan differences. The crisis started immediately after the fall of Mohamed Siad Barre. Since his overthrow in 1991, no central government has emerged. As a result of clan animosity, leadership wrangles, easy accessibility of arms, lack of commitment to a negotiated settlement, no peace and stability has been achieved in Somalia. Failure by factional leaders to agree on the formation of a central government has led factional leaders dividing the country into fiefdoms. For instance, the North unilateral declaration independence by Somaliland-formally British Somaliland, under the leadership of Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali National Movement (SNM), followed by Puntland under Abdullahi Yussuf of the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF). Unlike most of the south, these regions enjoy some semblance of stability while causes of the Somalia conflict have not been fully addressed. Territorial disputes emanating from colonial times and the "divide and rule" phenomena imposed on Somalia by the colonizers during scramble for Africa are the original causes of conflict in Somalia. Current armed clan conflicts and the collapse of governmental authority are exacerbations of colonial legacy left behind. For instance, in Rwanda, the colonial regime decided upon minority tribe-Tutsi to lead the majority-Hutus, several decades later genocide was unavoidable. Similarly, today in Iraq the minority Sunni Arabs find it difficult to come to terms with reality after Saddam overthrow, having reigned for several decades. Historically, the clan or tribe that got into power during colonial times would rule for as long as it feels even with little support from majority.
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