Impunity Watch, Africa
“Once again Somalia has failed to emerge from the upheaval[s].” This thought sums up the present circumstances in Somalia. The country is still unable to feed its people and there continues to be war. The humanitarian crisis in Somalia has not reached this stage since clan warfare nearly 16 years ago. This time the war is between allies of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and Ethiopian forces- in support of the Transitional Federal Government.
Roughly 430,000 to 350,000 have fled from Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, since the fighting began. According to the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund, one million Somalis are in need of aid and protection and 71 % of the population is malnourish.
To make matters worse, pirates have hindered the transport of food and aid to displaced Somalis. Earlier in the month, a ship carrying tons of UN relief refused to leave the port of Kenya because of piracy. On Tuesday, pirates released a vessel and its crew after the cargo owners agreed to pay the $100,000 ransom. The United Nations has appealed for international support to secure the waters off Somalia.
Besides humanitarian aid the United States objective is to prevent Somalia from becoming a safe haven to terrorist. Somalia has been without an affective government for 16 years. Although the Ethiopian forces overthrew the Union of Islamic Courts, the US is fearful extremist of the Islamic Court may harbour members of al-Qeada.
Ethiopia has vowed to retain troops in Somalia until African Union forces are at an effective level. Five Somali civilians died and three were injured yesterday after an attack on a convoy forced Ethiopian soldiers to open fire. As Islamists increasingly adopt guerrilla tactics, the likelihood the fighting will end soon seems daunting.
For more information please see:
BBC – Five Die in Somalia Convoy Attack – 30 May 2007
Yahoo – Somali Pirates Release Ship, Crew – 30 May 2007
BBC – Somalia – ‘A Depressing Prospect’ – 14 May 2007
BBC – Country profile: Somalia – 6 March 2007
