Background on Somalia

From British-Italian rule till end of WWII. Somali-speaking people inhabit the eastern part of the Horn of Africa, extending into areas of present-day Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti. The northwestern region of Somalia became a British Protectorate in 1887, while the eastern and southern regions became an Italian colony from 1894 to 1905. After World War II, Somalia passed a brief period under British military administration and then became a UN Trust Territory.

Independence from British-Italian rule and military coup.The British forces took steps toward withdrawing from British Somaliland in 1960 to enable it to join with Italian Somaliland and thus form the new nation of Somalia. At independence in 1960, the British Protectorate and Italian-administered Somalia merged to form the Somali Republic. The elementary outcome of such was to push forward the union of all the Somali-speaking people in one single country. However, this aim was not realized.

The Somali civilian rule saw an end in 1969 when General Mohamed Siad Barre seized power in a military coup. He ushered in an authoritarian socialist regime and succeeded in reaching a certain degree of stability during the following couple of decades.

Thus, in 1970 Barre pronounced the existence of a socialist state, proposing to pave the path towards closer and stronger liaison with the USSR at that time. He established a one-party system around the concept of "scientific socialism." With the support of Soviet arms, Somalia attempted unsuccessfully to seize the Ogadan region of Ethiopia in the disastrous Ogaden War of 1977-1978.

In the 1980s, state authority began to crumble as various clan-based groups opposed to Barre's rule began to form. In the northwest (former British Somaliland), the Somali National Movement (SNM) attempted to seize control in 1988. Barre countered with great violence, resulting in thousands of deaths and the flight of 400,000 refugees into Ethiopia.

Following such disastrous outcomes, Barre fled the country in January 1991 and Somalia descended into turmoil, factional fighting, and anarchy. In May 1991, northern clans declared an independent Republic of Somaliland that came to include the administrative regions of Awdal, Woqooyi Galbeed, Togdheer, Sanaag, and Sool. Though not recognized by any of the existing governments, this entity managed to earn itself a stable existence, supported by the overwhelming dominance of a ruling clan and economic infrastructure left behind by British, Russian, and American military assistance programs.

In addition to the latter, the regions of Bari, Nugaal, and northern Mudug compose a neighboring self-declared autonomous state called Puntland. It has been self-governing since 1998, yet still does not aim at independence. Over and above, it has also made strides toward the reconstruction of a legitimate, representative government. However, it has suffered some civil strife. Puntland has a disputed border with Somaliland as it also claims portions of eastern Sool and Sanaag when another rebel group, the United Somali Congress (USC), gained control of Mogadishu. A full-blown civil war developed in the capital when the USC fragmented into rival, clan-based factions.

The UN in Somalia

Beginning in 1993, a two-year UN humanitarian effort (primarily in the south) was able to alleviate famine conditions, but when the UN withdrew in 1995, having suffered significant casualties, order still had not been restored.

Since 1991, over a dozen externally sponsored peace and reconciliation conferences have failed to provide a basis for restoring a government in Somalia. Meanwhile, local administrations, often clan- or Islamic-based, developed in much of the country. The most successful of these is in Somaliland. An administration has also been set up in Puntland, in the northeast. Over time, power shifted somewhat from warlords to business, religious, and traditional leaders. Traditional Islamic courts coalesced loosely into the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which became a potent political and military force by mid-2006.

Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) launched a political conference in Nairobi, Kenya, in October, 2002. In the course of 2004, the participants agreed on a Transitional Federal Charter, appointed a parliament - based on clan representation - and elected Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed as Somalia's transitional president on October 10, 2004. A prime minister, Ali Mohamed Gedhi, was appointed, and a government was finalized in January 2005. But the new government team quickly showed signs of fragmenting. Abdullahi Yusuf left Nairobi in June and established his part of the government in Baidoa. In summer 2006, a coalition of warlords - claiming to be against extremism and terrorism - attacked the ICU. The latter's successful counterattack threatened the security of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). But Arab League-sponsored talks in Khartoum, from June 2006 onwards, between representatives of the TFG and ICU staved off direct confrontation at that time.

Geography

Government

The official name is Somali Democratic Republic. The capital is Mogadishu.

Government Type.There is no such thing as a permanently present national government, but rather a transitional parliamentary federal government.

The Legal System.Somalia has no national legal system. It is only the secular courts and Islamic Shari`ah that are applicable in some places. Also, it accepts the compulsory International Court of Justice ( ICJ ) laws.

The Executive Branch. The president, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, was sworn in on October 14, 2004. He was a former leader of the region of Puntland. Back in the 1990s, he rose as the leader of his native region Puntland and declared the region as autonomous in 1998.

The prime minister (head of government) is Ali Mohamed Ghedi, elected on December 24, 2004.

Legislative Branch.It is known to be a unicameral national assembly. It has a fledgling parliament (Transitional Federal Assembly ) composed of 275 members. The new parliament consists of 61 members, assigned to each of the four largest clans (Darod, Digil-Mirifle, Dir, and Hawiye) while the remaining 31 seats are allocated to minority clans.

Judicial Branch.After the fall of the central government in 1991, each region followed its own methods and procedures in problem resolution. These methods fall within the options of resorting to secular laws, the Islamic Shari`ah, or the traditional Somali customary laws.

Political Parties.Non applicable

Rival administration (opposition).Following the seizure of Mogadishu, the UIC gained power and control over most of the southern and central areas of Somalia. Such control enabled it to impose the Islamic Law - the Shari`ah - wherever it could and saw possible and that was given a greater push through their superior military strength. Its start was through its encouragement by the dominant business community to try to bring about some law and order in a government-free country.

The rise and domination of the UIC, headed by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys who is on the US terrorist lists, makes the UN and the US fearful of the prospect of Taliban-style rule in Somalia.

Economy

Relations With Border Countries

Kenya. In spite of occasional border disputes between Somalia and Kenya, the presence of a considerate Somali population in Kenya and the support Kenya devotes towards the reconciliation process encourage less suspicion and animosity from the Somali side.

EthiopiaThe overall stance of the relationship between the two countries is considered to be highly fragile since the occupation of the Ogadan in 1977-1978.  Although Ethiopia was involved in the IGAD peace process, a large portion of Somali groups view Ethiopia with much suspicion. Hence, relations are not stable.

Salma Mohamed is a graduate of the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University. Currently based in Vienna, Austria, she is studying for a master's degreee in political science.