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Conflict in Somalia…Again
By Raja Abou Reslan, Staff writer

 

Beirut, Lebanon - One would think that after decades of armed conflict and consecutive civil wars, people would lay down their arms and say they have had enough, but this basic right to live and enjoy life is lost among the people of the divided and ravaged African state of Somalia. This country has had little but ongoing bloodshed since its independence from the United Kingdom in 1960, and it continues today. The most recent war between the Islamic Court Union and the Ethiopian backed Transitional Federal Government has threatened to erupt into a regional conflict, including African counties loyal to either side as well as numerous outside forces.

The Islamic Court Union (ICU) has long been seen as a beacon for authority, justice and security, having most of Somalia proper under its control, forming a central judicial and governing body consisting of several Islamic courts across the country ruled through the Islamic Shariaa, headed by the Supreme Islamic Court of Banadir, under Chairman Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. Prior to the formation of the ICU, Somalia and specifically, its capital city Mogadishu, were controlled by several feuding warlords that have since devastated the country in their quest for power. Fighting during the 1990s between the ICU and allied warlords resulted in the latter’s retreat from the capital Mogadishu, placing Somalia, with the exception of the secular, autonomous regions of Somaliland and Puntland and areas controlled by the Transitional Federal Government, under the control of the ICU.

The ICU has drawn worldwide criticism as being an autocratic authority for the use of Shariaa laws to execute sentences, sometimes involving beheading and the amputation of limbs as punishment for petty crimes, as well as censors on everyday life activities. Furthermore, several leaders and judges of the ICU have been listed as terrorism suspects by the U.S. and the E.U., and accused of being affiliated with Al-Qaeda. During 2006, after calls by the Chairman of the ICU for the creation of a Greater Somalia, there have been several attempts by the ICU to take control of the Ogaden region in Ethiopia, taken from Somalia in 1948. In December of that year, war began with Ethiopia in alliance with the Transitional Federal Government, Somaliland, and Puntland to overthrow the ICU. By the end of December, ICU forces had begun retreating and were defeated at the beginning of January 2007.

This conflict threatens to destabilize the region, with countries on both sides considering their options and how best to protect their interests. African allies of the ICU are namely Eritrea, Djibouti and bands of volunteer Mujahideen, against most of the African Union countries including Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia. An audio tape showing Al-Qaeda’s number two man Al-Zawahiri calling for guerilla warfare jihad against the “crusader” Ethiopian forces, could create another Iraq-style battleground.

For a country that has seen nothing but war for as long as most Somalis can remember, this should be a wake up call to the incessant danger this country and region are being exposed to. These threats can be traced back to the regional and international forces that have used Somalia for decades as their battleground for achieving their interests on behalf of the suffering of the Somali people.