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Amanda Roraback's World in a Nutshell |
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SOMALIA |
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TERMS Ali Mohammed Gedi -- Somalia's new prime minister (from the Hawiye clan, but despised by his kinsman) Abdullahi Yusuf -- Somalia's president (from the Darod clan). He was named to head the transitional government when it was formed in 2004. Mogadishu - Capital of Somalia. Transitional Government - Formed in 2004. Horn of Africa - A peninsula of east Africa that juts into the Arabian Sea. Islamic Courts Union- Fundamental Islamic group believed to have links to terrorists including Al Qaeda. Ethiopia, the United Nations and most Western nations didn't recognize the Islamic Courts as Somalia's government instead backing the Transitional Government of Ali Mohammed Gedi. Sheikh Hassan Damir Aweys -- Military commander of the Islamists. He may have escaped to Mecca after the invasion. Darod clan -- Clan from northeast Somalia. The Darod clan dominates the transitional Somali government. About 20% of Somalia's population are members of the Darod. Hawiye clan -- Clan which traditionally controlled Mogadishu. The Hawiye live in central and southern Somalia and parts of Kenya and Ethiopia. About 25% of Somalia's population belongs to the Hawiye clan. WHO'S FIGHTING WHOM?
Islamists
vs. Ethiopians WHY? Somalia in effect, had no government when the Islamic Courts seized Mogadishu (Somalia's capital) in June, 2006. Before the takeover, Somalia had been run by competing warlords leaving the country in a state of discord. The Islamic Courts brought stability to Somalia but, much like the Taliban of Afghanistan, also imposed strict Islamic law. Cinemas were closed and activities deemed "non-Islamic" (for example, soccer and the selling and consumption of qat, an addictive narcotic leaf native to the region), were outlawed. The Islamic Courts were defeated on December 25th, 2006 by a coalition of Ethiopian and moderate Somalis belonging to the transitional government. ETHIOPIA Ethiopia has one of Africa's biggest armies and a powerful air force. It is the second oldest Christian nation (after Armenia) but, according to the CIA Factbook, only 35-40% of the population is Christian (Ethiopian Orthodox). Among the other religions: 33% of Ethiopians are Muslim and 12% are animists. Ethiopia's Christian leaders called the attack a preemptive strike against the spread of Islamic extremism in the region. The Ethiopians were also provoked when the Islamic Court's top security officer, Yusuf Mohammed Siad, sought arms and fighters from Islamic militants around the world and, notably, from Ethiopia's arch-enemy, Eritrea. An Islamist victory, it was also feared, could encourage Ethiopia's Muslim population to seek the same. Islamic Ethiopians critical of their country's involvement in Somalia's civil war claimed that the threat posed by the Islamic Courts was exaggerated and feared that the country's Christian government would use the threat as an excuse to crack down on political enemies. SOMALI CLANS The collapse of Mohamed Siad Barre's regime in 1991 sparked fighting among Somalia's two most prominent clans, the Hawiye and the Darod, and the country's smaller sub clans over control over Mogadishu. Many Darod were killed or driven out of their homes. The Islamic Courts Union temporarily unified various clans under Islam but familiar clan rivalries reignited when the alliance collapsed. Members of the Hawiye clan, who are slightly in the majority in Mogadishu, fear that Somalia's President Abdullahi Yusuf from the Darod clan may seek revenge against the Hawiye. Gedi, Somalia's prime minister, is a member of the Hawiye clan but is not embraced by the clan. THE FUTURE The fact that the Gedi government relied on Somalia's neighbor to invade and to keep order attests to its weakness -- especially since most Somalis see Ethiopia as an old enemy (Ethiopia has fought two wars with Somalia) and a puppet of the United States. The transitional government needs the Ethiopian troops to remain in the country until order is restored and the authority of government is established. If Ethiopian troops stay too long, though, they will be viewed as an occupying force leading to insurgent attacks. A Muslim insurgency could attract Muslim militants from abroad and a strong Ethiopian presence could provoke regional rivals (like Eritrea) to get involved. If the Gedi government proves too weak to maintain power on its own, order in the country could again collapse inviting a return of the warlords and clan violence. In the last few weeks, fighting has erupted because of clan rivalries, frustration over the presence of foreign, Ethiopian troops and generally disapproval of Somalia's transitional government. US INTEREST Americans have been interested in hunting down suspected terrorists believed to be among the Somali Islamists who were defeated in late December. Among the targets are suspects connected with the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people as well as operatives responsible for the 2002 bombing of a hotel and Kenya and strikes against Israeli airliners among other attacks. In January, 2007, US forces conducted air strikes against targets in southern Somalia where hundreds of Islamists had assembled after fleeing Mogadishu during the Ethiopian/transitional government invasion. America's involvement in the war (the first military intervention in the country since 1994) has stirred anti-Western sentiment throughout East Africa. Somalian witnesses and government officials claim that dozens of civilians have been killed by US and Ethiopian air strikes. TERRORISTS TARGETED BY THE US
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