...Somalia is a country with a history of violence, unrest, and strategic implications regarding counterterrorism for the United States (U.S.). Of particular interest is the Al Shabaab organization, an Islamic extremist group attempting to overthrow the United Nations (UN) sanctioned Transitional Federal Government (TFG). According to the National Counter-Terrorism Center, the group has exerted temporary and, at times, sustained control over strategic locations in southern and central Somalia by recruiting, at times forcibly, regional sub-clans and their militias, using guerrilla asymmetrical warfare and terrorist tactics against the TFG of Somalia and its allies, African Union (AU) peacekeepers, and Nongovernmental aid Organizations (NGO). Traditional warfare should not be considered an option as the threat faced does not constitute a conventional war where military forces are attempting to achieve strategic objectives against a recognized state. Commensurate to the threat, an Islamic extremist organization, irregular warfare strategies and capabilities are ideal in neutralizing these threats. The U.S., in support of the AU, is uniquely positioned to provide support through irregular warfare capabilities implemented by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). Although the Al Shabaab organization could be categorized as aninsurgency, it may not necessarily be feasible to approach the threatwith a counterinsurgency strategy. The organization does not appearto have the support of the...
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...Somalia has been without an effective central government since President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. Years of fighting between rival warlords and an inability to deal with famine and disease have led to the deaths of up to one million people. Comprised of a former British protectorate and an Italian colony, Somalia was created in 1960 when the two territories merged. Since then its development has been slow. Relations with neighbours have been soured by its territorial claims on Somali-inhabited areas of Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti. In 1970 Mr Barre proclaimed a socialist state, paving the way for close relations with the USSR. In 1977, with the help of Soviet arms, Somalia attempted to seize the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, but was defeated thanks to Soviet and Cuban backing for Ethiopia, which had turned Marxist. In 1991 President Barre was overthrown by opposing clans. But they failed to agree on a replacement and plunged the country into lawlessness and clan warfare. Continue reading the main story At a glance * Scene of Africa's worst humanitarian crisis: aid agencies warn that millions face starvation * No effective government since 1991 * Islamist militia and UN-backed transitional government compete for control of country * The self-proclaimed state of Somaliland and the region of Puntland run their own affairs Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring In 2000 clan elders and other senior figures appointed Abdulkassim Salat Hassan...
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...Aniela Santoso EIL 320 Section 6 October 15, 2014 The Solutions of Food Shortage in Somalia Africa, or as known as the Dark Continent, is the world's second-largest and second-most-populous continent. Every time this continent is mentioned, usually we immediately think about extreme poverty, children’s malnutrition, food and water shortage, also deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Ebola. We only recognize the problem from the surface and just rely on humanitarian organization’s aid. But in reality, people in Africa, especially in Somalia, have undergone a very serious problem of food shortage and famine for a long time and still depend on international’s aid without helpful solution. In fact, Somalia has experienced a situation of acute malnutrition in more than 30 percent of children, at least two deaths per 10,000 people every day and access to less than four litres of water a day (CARE, 2012). Therefore, this paper will examine the possibly long-term solutions in economic, social, and political sectors to overcome the root of this problem. Food shortage in Somalia occurred as a result of natural and human factors. There are three major factors that cause this problem, which is dominated by human factors. First, Somalia has experienced civil war and political unrest as a result of the domination of an organization called Al Qaeda, which is led by Al Shahaab. Al Qaeda prohibited any deliveries of food aid from any organizations and agencies (Erdenemunkh, 2013). Second,...
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...Somalia (/sɵˈmɑːliə/ so-mah-lee-ə; Somali: Soomaaliya; Arabic: الصومال aṣ-Ṣūmāl), officially the Federal Republic of Somalia[1] (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya, Arabic: جمهورية الصومال الفدراليةJumhūrīyat aṣ-Ṣūmāl al-Fidirālīyah), is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Kenya to the southwest. Somalia has the longest coastline on the continent's mainland,[6] and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands.[3] Climatically, hot conditions prevail year-round, with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall.[7] Somalia has a population of around 10 million. Around 85% of residents are ethnic Somalis,[3] who have historically inhabited the northern part of the country. Ethnic minorities make up the remainder and are largely concentrated in the southern regions.[8] The official languages of Somalia are Somali and Arabic, both of which belong to the Afro-Asiatic family.[3] Most people in the country are Muslim,[9] with the majority beingSunni.[10] In antiquity, Somalia was an important commercial centre,[11][12] and is among the most probable locations of the fabled ancient Land of Punt.[13][14][15][16] During the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade, including the Ajuran Empire, the Adal Sultanate, the Warsangali Sultanate, and the Geledi Sultanate. In the late 19th century...
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...Somali language Number of Speakers: According to Gordon (2005), approximately 13 million people speak Somali, but upwards of 25 million individuals are commonly estimated to speak the language. The exact number of speakers is unknown because of the recent civil wars and the resultant waves of migration. Key Dialects: There are three main dialects of Somali: Northern Somali, Benaadir (coastal Somali), and Af-Ashraaf (Ashraaf). Northern Somali is the primary dialect and is the basis for standard Somali. Geographical Center: Somalia and independent Somaliland (northern Somalia) GENERAL INTRODUCTION Somali is perhaps the best documented and most thoroughly studied Cushitic language. It is spoken by roughly eight million people in Somalia and independent Somaliland (northern Somalia), where it is the official language. Outside Somalia, it is spoken by approximately five million people in a number of countries, including Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Italy, Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Speakers of Somali are typically multilingual in Arabic and Italian. Alternate names of the language are Af-Soomaali and Af-Maxaad Tiri. LINGUISTIC AFFILIATION Somali is an Eastern Cushitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Related languages include Afar and Oromo. LANGUAGE VARIATION There are three primary regional dialects of Somali: Northern Somali, Benaadir Somali, and Af-Ashraaf Somali. Northern Somali is...
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...Soc 355: Minority Group Relations Somalia Presentation Paper When I walked into the presentation tonight I had no idea what to expect. I thought for a second it might be another presentation that just simply bores the audience with listing statistics of bullies in schools or dealing with discrimination that I would never come across or face. It was not though; the presentation was a real experience. In a sense, it could have been too real. Somalia is a country that is located on the far east of Africa. This country is in a region known as the “Horn of Africa”. Somalia is in the center of what is said to be the worst drought in Africa in over 60 years. With most of the country side being couple empty and home to absolutely nothing, the region has been officially declared as one of the few famines areas in world history. There are currently over 10 million men, women and children that are desperate need of food and water. Over 600,000 children are in despair as their country fights poverty, drought, and civil war. There is no more grass in the fields. Farms are no longer filled with animals. There is no longer food for parents to provide to their children. There is no more water in wells. The countryside people are forced to abandon their homes, their cities, and their farms to make the treacherous voyage towards a refugee camp. They leave because they have absolutely nothing left. They leave on a path on foot that is faced with dangerous obstacles of facing wild dangerous...
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...Piracy in Somalia Somalia has been dealing with piracy for decades now. Piracy is a major problem in today’s waters, but what exactly is piracy? Piracy is the practice of attacking and robbing ships at sea. The piracy epidemic in Somalia is not going to go away overnight. Piracy in Somalia has drastically affected everything about the country. Piracy might now sound like a whole lot of a big deal, but the real fact is, it is a big deal. Solving such an issue as piracy is not an easy task by any means. To solve any issue one must understand the effects of the issue. The effect of Somalian piracy on the shores of Somalia can be fully understood, but it takes, time, patience and hard work. The Somalian pirates have caused untold mayhem on Somalia’s environment, economy people, and the Government One of the biggest thing affected by the piracy in Somalia is the environment. Somali pirates are linked to illegal fishing and toxic waste dumping. As Saeed Shabazz puts it. Over fishing is a huge problem for Somalia right now. Not only is it a problem for them but also for the world. Since there is over fishing the fish populations in that area are deplenishing. The fish are not given enough time to reproduce causing less fish. Thus the effect of that is less food all around, which causes the Somalian pirates to move all along the shores of Somalia depleting the resources in the sea. Toxic waste dumping by the pirates in the sea is also another major problem. The waste the pirates...
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...Security Stability in Somalia Since their indirect elections on September 12, 2012, and despite the fragile regional security situation of the Horn of Africa, Somalia has continued to experience significant and sustained progress towards security stability in their country. In order for Somalia to succeed as viable and trusted state, the United States (US) as well as the International Community should not allow another security stability failure in Somalia. The US and the International Community must focus on helping to sustain Somalia’s efforts against the fight of the Al-Shabaab terrorist organization, help to counter piracy, and to help build capacity and capability in the Somali government and its institutions. While at the same time provide the support to attend Somali basic humanitarian aid needs and financial assistance. First, one of the reasons why the general security conditions in Somalia keep on improving is principally thanks to the sustained operations carried out against the Jihadist organization Al-Shabaab by the Somali national security forces in conjunction with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and with other associates and allied militias of the government. These operations are currently successful in managing to achieve the retreat of the Islamist radicals from some of the main cities of the south and center of the country. The sustainment of these operations will deteriorate Al-Shabaab operations capacity as a military force, promote the desertion...
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...struggle among state and non-state actors for legitimacy and influence over the relevant populations. I will discuss where the U.S. may apply military force in conjunction with other means of national power to stabilize the nation of Somalia. I will also discuss why it would be considered as an Irregular Warfare environment. Body Somalia gained its independence from British control in 1960, where the British relinquished control and gave Somalia to the United Nations. Somalia was governed by civilians until 1969; after which the military rebellion by General Muhammed Siad Barre took place. General Muhammed Siad Barre was a military tyranny that was in command of Somalia and it’s military. His tyranny lasted over 2 decades. During the 1970s the United States government communicated with General Barre and donated over 100 million dollars to help stabilize the Somali economy. The United States knew it was within there best interest to keep General Barre in power of Somalia for a while. The United States also knew that by the late 1980s the Somali economy would be unable to sustain itself and foreign aid would be withdrawn. After the collapse of Somalia’s economy, the United States revolted against General Barre’s oppressive regime. Different warlords of Somalia fought together against General Barre, ending his power and forcing him to flee the country. The United States maintained the tyranny by supporting General Barre and his dictatorship because they had an agenda. They then used their...
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...The Effects of War and Peace on Foreign Aid in Somalia Rachel Gardner Professor Marco Mena Sociology of Developing Countries Strayer University 5/4/2014 The Effects of War and Peace on Foreign Aid Foreign aid plays a major role in the sustainability of economic and social activities of developing nations. Whether in the form of development or humanitarian aid, the foreign aid is key to ensuring better living conditions and economic development for these states. These forms of aid are influential in pushing for progress in among the developing nations, but the presence of war greatly affects progress. War has a bearing impact on the distribution of foreign aid in the developing nations due to the resulting impediments that hinder effective movements of the aid to the intended population. One such country is Somalia that has for decades faced civil war due to the lack of a stable government. The effect of the war is eminent; starving population, poor infrastructure, disease outbreaks and mass displacements of the country’s citizens into refugee camps. However, the country has also received large amounts of foreign aid to assist it in addressing its current troubles, but due the continued prevalence of war in the country no substantial gain has been witnessed. Judging from countries facing similar conditions, it becomes apparent that key is vital for the effectiveness of foreign aid failure to which no significant development can occur. Peace is a key factor in effective...
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...Somalia tends to be known for its poverty, upheaval and destructive past, there has up until recently been a lack of leadership or government, healthcare and economic growth. I hope to look more deeply into why all of this is and how it has affected Somalia. I will discuss how a healthy population affects the economy of Somalia. Also how the IMF and the world bank have helped or made various things worse and lastly what role leadership has played in improving the healthcare system in Somalia. There are so many things that come into play that have had devastating effects on Somalia like civil wars that lasted for years on end it seemed like. The International Monetary Fund is helping Somalia rebuild because Somalia has looked like a destruction zone for many years now. The IMF is building institutions and trying to restore security to cut down on warfare. Along with various financial institutions being built with the help of the International Monetary Fund. Since Somalia is rebuilding it has made it a point to have international relations which will help in Somalia becoming a great place and sustaining in the growth of Somalia. The IMF is focusing a lot on forming particular institutions that are very much needed in a place that has very poor infrastructure. Institutions like public institutions which will provide social and economic services for the people. The IMF has strived to gain international relations which they did which will help provide healthcare or medicine, food...
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...are very interested in knowing more about. This essay will give a brief history of Somalia (Fatima’s home country), and then it will go into female genital cutting in Somalia. Somalia is a country in eastern Africa. The countries of Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya surround it. Somalis are thought to have been decedents from Africans and Arab people. The main languages in Somalia are Arabic, Italian and English. Islam is practiced through out the region. The majorities of Somalis are livestock herders and cultivate the land that they have. (www.cia.gov). Somalia became independent and its own country in 1960, when it got independence from England and Italy. Somalia has not had a stable government between 1991 and 2000. However, during 2000 a parliamentary government was formed but later on expired in 2003. In 2004, a new parliament was organized and a president was elected- Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed. Since 1991, Somalia has been overwhelmed with chaos and anarchy. Somalia had gone through a difficult time in 1992 when a drought happened in Africa and was combined with a civil war. Somalia went through an intense famine that killed approximately 300,000 people. (www.cia.gov). There were many efforts done by the United Stated and the United Nations to help Somalia get through the drought and civil war. However, there was a negative reaction from some Somalis with “outside intervention”. In 2006, Somalia went through its worst outbreak of violence in 10 years. The fights were between...
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...Joseph Bukowski Core 222 Professor Shaul Somalia-Country Analysis Introduction Somalia, formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic during a Socialst rule, has no central government and is characterized as a failed state. Located in the horn of Africa, Somalia has the largest coastline on the continent and was under British rule until 1960. Mohamed Siad Barre took control of Somalia during this transition and his empire reigned until the Somali Civil War in 1991. Since the civil war, most of Somali has been without a central governing body and has been subject to harsh and violent conditions. There has been attempts to establish a government however the regions of Puntland and self-declared Somaliland have been self-governing. These bodies are unrecognized internationally although Somaliland declares itself to be autonomous. Without a stable government, civic disputes have been settled at the local scene. The Transitional Federal Government has became an interim government and its mandate will expire in 2012 (1). At that time, Somalia hopes to have national elections and work towards developing a central authority. Economy Without a central government, Somalia is forced to maintain a formal economy mainly consisting of livestock, telecommunications, and money transfer companies. This informal economy has remained fairly healthy as domestic agriculture has contributed a major portion of the country's gross domestic product. Almost half of Somalia's exports...
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... Examine causes and consequences of a recent famine. Since July 2011, Somalia has been hit with East Africa’s worst drought in 60 years, with over 12 million people in east African region needing food aid, according to the UN. They have also warned that this drought and famine could cause death of over 750 000 people in Somalia. As it can be seen on Map 1, other countries around Somalia such as Djibouti, Kenya, and Ethiopia have been affected as well. The key on the map shows that the areas marked with dark red are areas affected the most. The UN officially declared famine on 20 July 2011 in southern Somalia. Since then, 4 more regions including the entire Bay region in Somalia were declared famine. Somalia has been affected by constant drought for the past 30 years, while having civil war causing destruction to its rural and urban economies. Somalia has been categorized as a “failed state”. So what has caused them to become a failed state? Causes of this recent famine can be categorized into social, economic, and environmental. Somalia is also known as a failed state, a country without government. Besides the civil war they have had for the past 20 years, corrupted governments and lack of infrastructures. Firstly, Somalia has a corrupted government and lack of infrastructure. This prevents any form of aid group or government from transporting food and any other aid items. Also, the Somalia ordered 700 tons of corn from South Africa to help feed the people, but less...
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...Somalia is officially named the Federal Republic of Somalia. This country is located in Africa and makes up what is known as the Horn of Africa, along the East side of the continent. Being a third world country, the culture is very different than what is experienced in everyday life in America. In this Culture Essay, you will come to understand the aspects of the Geography, Weather, Civil Considerations, and the People. Some general data of Somalia that has been collected is very interesting. The education in Somalia has been horrible over the years. Most kids leave school around the age of 14. The literacy rate is around 25%. The health care that is provided is a hospital in the capital that is funded by wealthy Somalis. The doctor...
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