Medeshi Jan 8, 2009
Somalia in turmoil
At a glance
In detail
Timeline
'WORLD'S WORST HUMANITARIAN CRISIS'
More than one in 10 Somalis have been forced out of their homes by conflict as Islamist insurgents who ruled the country briefly in 2006 battle against the Ethiopian-backed government. Years of anarchy since the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, combined with frequent drought and rampant inflation, have turned Somalia into the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the U.N.
More than 3.2 million need humanitarian aid
More than 1.1 million displaced
Infrastructure in tatters and little law and order
Somalia's Transitional Federal Government is unpopular and virtually powerless in a country where warlords, Islamist insurgents and Ethiopian-backed Somali government forces clash almost daily.
Aid workers say Somalia has more than 1.1 million internally displaced people and their numbers are swelled by an exodus of thousands of civilians each month from the capital, Mogadishu, under attack from Islamists fighting to take control of it.
Six months of strict rule by the Islamists in 2006 brought relative peace to Mogadishu. That rule ended when troops from Ethiopia, a key U.S. ally, helped restore the transitional government. Foreign involvement fuelled opposition locally and internationally and appeared to boost support for the Islamists, with some analysts saying U.S. accusations of al Qaeda involvement became a self-fulfilling prophesy.
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled Mogadishu since the end of 2006. Aid agencies say that the 15 km (10 mile) stretch of road between the capital and the town of Afgoye is probably the largest concentration of displaced people on the planet. In September 2008, an estimated 300,000 people were camped along the side of the road.
Somalia is the most pressing humanitarian emergency in the world - even worse than the crisis in Sudan's western Darfur region, the country representative for the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said in 2008.
The U.N. Office for the coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in October 2008 that 3.2 million people need humanitarian aid. The shortages are caused by conflict, high inflation and frequent drought. But food distribution is hindered by pirate attacks on sea deliveries, roadblocks, and armed attacks on aid convoys.
Aid agencies rank Somalia one of the most dangerous places in the world to work, and few organisations base international staff there.
It is also the world's second deadliest country for journalists, after Iraq, says the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Somalia in turmoil
At a glance
In detail
Timeline
'WORLD'S WORST HUMANITARIAN CRISIS'
More than one in 10 Somalis have been forced out of their homes by conflict as Islamist insurgents who ruled the country briefly in 2006 battle against the Ethiopian-backed government. Years of anarchy since the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, combined with frequent drought and rampant inflation, have turned Somalia into the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the U.N.
More than 3.2 million need humanitarian aid
More than 1.1 million displaced
Infrastructure in tatters and little law and order
Somalia's Transitional Federal Government is unpopular and virtually powerless in a country where warlords, Islamist insurgents and Ethiopian-backed Somali government forces clash almost daily.
Aid workers say Somalia has more than 1.1 million internally displaced people and their numbers are swelled by an exodus of thousands of civilians each month from the capital, Mogadishu, under attack from Islamists fighting to take control of it.
Six months of strict rule by the Islamists in 2006 brought relative peace to Mogadishu. That rule ended when troops from Ethiopia, a key U.S. ally, helped restore the transitional government. Foreign involvement fuelled opposition locally and internationally and appeared to boost support for the Islamists, with some analysts saying U.S. accusations of al Qaeda involvement became a self-fulfilling prophesy.
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled Mogadishu since the end of 2006. Aid agencies say that the 15 km (10 mile) stretch of road between the capital and the town of Afgoye is probably the largest concentration of displaced people on the planet. In September 2008, an estimated 300,000 people were camped along the side of the road.
Somalia is the most pressing humanitarian emergency in the world - even worse than the crisis in Sudan's western Darfur region, the country representative for the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said in 2008.
The U.N. Office for the coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in October 2008 that 3.2 million people need humanitarian aid. The shortages are caused by conflict, high inflation and frequent drought. But food distribution is hindered by pirate attacks on sea deliveries, roadblocks, and armed attacks on aid convoys.
Aid agencies rank Somalia one of the most dangerous places in the world to work, and few organisations base international staff there.
It is also the world's second deadliest country for journalists, after Iraq, says the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The self-declared state of Somaliland, in the north of the country, is relatively safe compared with the rest of Somalia, but another northern semi-autonomous region - Puntland - has become out-of-bounds for international aid workers since several kidnapping incidents.
Puntland wants to remain part of Somalia. Somaliland declared independence in 1991 and, although not recognised internationally, it has a functioning government, police force and currency.
The African Union has deployed troops to replace the Ethiopian troops whose presence has inflamed the conflict. Ethiopia began withdrawing its soldiers in January 2009 having failed to stem the Islamist insurgency. But AU troops complain they are under-funded and under-staffed.
KEY FACTS
Total population (2006) = 8.4 million (UNICEF 2008)
Life expectancy (2006) 47 =(UNICEF 2008)
Internally displaced people =1.1 million (OCHA, September 2008)
Refugees from Somalia (2007)=457,000 (UNHCR)
People in need of humanitarian aid =3.2 million (OCHA, Oct 2008)
Doctors per 100,000 people =4 (UNDP 2007)
Population with access to safe water (2004)=29 percent (UNICEF 2008)
Puntland wants to remain part of Somalia. Somaliland declared independence in 1991 and, although not recognised internationally, it has a functioning government, police force and currency.
The African Union has deployed troops to replace the Ethiopian troops whose presence has inflamed the conflict. Ethiopia began withdrawing its soldiers in January 2009 having failed to stem the Islamist insurgency. But AU troops complain they are under-funded and under-staffed.
KEY FACTS
Total population (2006) = 8.4 million (UNICEF 2008)
Life expectancy (2006) 47 =(UNICEF 2008)
Internally displaced people =1.1 million (OCHA, September 2008)
Refugees from Somalia (2007)=457,000 (UNHCR)
People in need of humanitarian aid =3.2 million (OCHA, Oct 2008)
Doctors per 100,000 people =4 (UNDP 2007)
Population with access to safe water (2004)=29 percent (UNICEF 2008)
Children under five under height for age (2000-2006)=38 percent (UNICEF 2008)
Children under five underweight (2000-2006)=36 percent (UNICEF 2008)
under-five mortality rate (2006) =145 per 1,000 live births (UNICEF 2008)
Children attending primary school (2000-2006) =Boys - 24 percent; Girls - 20 percent (UNICEF 2008)
Time Line
1960 - Independence sees unification of Somali peoples ruled since late 19th century by Britain and Italy
1969 - Army seizes power in bloodless coup. Major-General Mohamed Siad Barre takes control
1990 - Rebel Somali National Movement, United Somali Congress and Somali Patriotic Movement form alliance to topple Siad Barre
1991
Power struggle between rival clan warlords Mohamed Farah Aideed and Ali Mahdi Mohamed erupts into violence. Thousands of civilians are killed and wounded
Former British protectorate of Somaliland declares unilateral independence
1992
Rival warlords sign U.N.-sponsored ceasefire in early 1992 but fail to agree on monitoring provisions
April - U.N. Security Council approves deployment of ceasefire observers. Siad Barre flees into exile days later
Sept - Warlord Farah Aideed returns to Mogadishu and rules out deployment of U.N. troops
Dec - Security Council endorses full-scale military operation led by United States. U.S. Marines hit Mogadishu's beaches in "Operation Restore Hope"
1993
Jan - At U.N. talks in Addis Ababa, feuding clan militias sign first of many pacts to stop fighting
Oct - Eighteen U.S. Army Rangers and one Malaysian killed when Somali militias shoot down two U.S. helicopters in Mogadishu. Hundreds of Somalis die in ensuing fighting. U.S. mission formally ends in March 1994
1995 - U.N. peacekeepers withdraw
1998 - Puntland region in northern Somalia declares independence
2000
May - Somali National Peace Conference brings together more than 2,000 participants
Aug - Transitional National Government (TNG) is established to try to unite warring Somalis
2003
Sept - Factions agree to a transitional constitution and set five-year term for elections after TNG mandate expires in August
2004
Oct - Ethiopian-backed warlord Abdullahi Yusuf elected Somali president by lawmakers. In December, new Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Gedi swears in 27 ministers in Kenya
2005
Feb - Somali president and prime minister arrive in central Somali town of Jowhar for first time since their government was formed in Kenya
2006
Jan - Somalia's president and parliamentary speaker reach deal to end government rift by holding parliamentary meeting inside Somalia within 30 days
Feb 26 - Parliament holds first meeting inside country since interim government was formed
March - U.N. warns famine could kill 10,000 people a month if rainy season fails
Fierce fighting breaks out in Mogadishu between warlords and Islamist militants. European Commission officially recognises Somalia's interim government, and signs pact with government making it easier for EC to channel aid to Somalia
May - Another bout of violence breaks out between Islamic militia and warlords, killing around 150 people
Jun - Islamist militia take control of Mogadishu
Arab League begins mediation between Islamists and government. Interim government and Islamic Courts movement recognise each other in their first direct high-level talks in Sudan
Jul - Ethiopian troops reported to have crossed into Somalia. Ethiopia denies. U.N. Security Council expresses willingness to consider long-delayed deployment of foreign peacekeepers. Interim government postpones peace talks, accusing Islamists of violating a ceasefire
Growing number of ministers quit interim government, after trying unsuccessfully to remove prime minister from power. Diplomats say move is in protest at Gedi's reluctance to engage with Islamists, and is aimed at facilitating peace talks. One minister is assassinated outside a mosque in Baidoa
A conventional passenger plane flies in and out of Mogadishu's re-opened international airport for first time in 11 years
Aug - Somalia's cabinet dissolved
Gedi swears in slimmed-down, 31-member cabinet but doesn't appoint any Islamists
Sep - Islamists and interim government meet at talks hosted by Arab League and agree to unified military front, but stall on political issues over Islamists' demand for Ethiopia to withdraw troops
East African Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) continues to push forward a plan to send peacekeepers to Somalia, despite opposition by both Islamists and interim government
Gunmen kill Italian nun working at a children's hospital in north Mogadishu
Somalia's first known suicide bombing targets president in Baidoa. Attack kills five people including Yusuf's brother. Administration blames al Qaeda
Islamists take control of port city of Kismayu, saying they're defending country from any invasion attempts by Ethiopia or Uganda
Oct - Islamists declare holy war against Ethiopia, which they accuse of invading Somalia to help the interim government. Ethiopia still denies any incursion
Nov - Islamists capture town near semi-autonomous Puntland, which has strong ties with Ethiopia. Transitional government and Islamists fail to meet for scheduled peace talks
Report by U.N. Monitoring Group says 10 countries, including members of IGAD bloc of six eastern African countires, continue to violate U.N. arms embargo
Dec - Aid agencies say worst floods in years kill more than 100 people and affect at least 350,000
Security Council passes resolution endorsing African peacekeepers for Somalia
Islamists tell Ethiopia to leave Somalia within seven days or face war. Fighting starts on Dec 19 following end of deadline
Ethiopia publically admits military involvement in Somalia. Ethiopian jets strike Islamist-controlled airport of Baledogle, Somalia's biggest military airfield, and Mogadishu
Somali government forces and Ethiopian allies march into Mogadishu after Islamist rivals abandon the city
2007Jan - Somali government and Ethiopian troops seize Kismayu, the Islamists' last remaining stronghold. U.S. forces launch air strikes in south Somalia, targeting suspected al Qaeda cell. More U.S. strikes follow over coming months. Three-month state of emergency declared by interim government
Feb - Security Council authorises African Union peacekeeping mission
Mar - First Ugandan peacekeepers arrive. Insurgents drag soldiers' bodies through Mogadishu during heavy fighting with Ethiopian and government forces. Ethiopian helicopter gunships fire rockets on insurgents' strongholds in north Mogadishu in first use of aerial power in capital
May - U.N. aid chief John Holmes says aid workers are only reaching about a third of thousands who fled Mogadishu. He calls it world's worst displacement crisis in terms of numbers and access. World Food Programme says increasing piracy is threatening food supplies
Jun - Ethiopia says will withdraw troops once peace is established
Jul - National reconciliation conference opens in Mogadishu amid upsurge in violence. Islamist leaders refuse to attend
Sep - New opposition alliance meets in Asmara, Eritrea, and says it will campaign for military and diplomatic solution to conflict
Oct - Prime Minister Ghedi resigns
Nov - U.N. special envoy Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah says humanitarian crisis is worst in Africa. Nur Hassan Hussein sworn in as new prime minister. U.N. says 1 million Somalis now displaced, and nearly 200,000 fled Mogadishu in previous fortnight
2008
Jan - Many aid agencies pull out international staff after series of kidnappings and killings, including incidents in Puntland, formerly regarded as relatively safe
May - Ethiopia says it will keep troops inside Somalia until Islamists are defeated
U.N. Security Council allows countries to send warships to tackle pirates in Somalia's waters
Jun - Government signs three-month ceasefire pact with opposition Alliance for Re-Liberation of Somalia, which says Ethiopian troops will leave Somalia within 120 days. Islamists reject deal, vowing to continue fighting until all foreign troops have left
Jul - Head of U.N. Development Programme in Somalia, Osman Ali Ahmed, killed by gunmen in Mogadishu. World Food Programme says surge in attacks on aid workers is threatening entire aid response, and warns resulting humanitarian disaster would rival that of 1992-3 famine
Oct - Coordinated suicide car bombings across relatively peaceful regions of Somaliland and Puntland kill at least 30 people
Somali government and faction of Alliance for Re-Liberation of Somalia sign ceasefire in Djibouti and agree to national unity govt, dependent on Ethiopian troop withdrawal by early 2009
Fighting reported between Islamic Courts and al Shabaab Islamist factions near Mogadishu
Nov - President Abdullahi Yusuf says Islamists control most of country and warns government could completely collapse
Yusuf and Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein fail to agree new cabinet or form new transitional government by Nov. 12 deadline set by Africa's Inter-Governmental Authority on Development. Hardline Islamists do not attend new round of peace talks in Djibouti. Ethiopia says will withdraw troops by end-2008
Dec - Yusuf sacks Hussein. Parliament votes to reinstate him, but Yusuf names former interior minister Mohamed Mohamud Guled as new prime minister, deepening rifts in fractured government. Guled resigns, saying he does not want to be stumbling block to peace process, and Hussein reinstated. Yusuf resigns and Parliament speaker Sheikh Aden Madobe becomes interim president in line with the constitution. Elections due to be held within 30 days
2009
Jan - Ethiopia begins withdrawing its troops
1969 - Army seizes power in bloodless coup. Major-General Mohamed Siad Barre takes control
1990 - Rebel Somali National Movement, United Somali Congress and Somali Patriotic Movement form alliance to topple Siad Barre
1991
Power struggle between rival clan warlords Mohamed Farah Aideed and Ali Mahdi Mohamed erupts into violence. Thousands of civilians are killed and wounded
Former British protectorate of Somaliland declares unilateral independence
1992
Rival warlords sign U.N.-sponsored ceasefire in early 1992 but fail to agree on monitoring provisions
April - U.N. Security Council approves deployment of ceasefire observers. Siad Barre flees into exile days later
Sept - Warlord Farah Aideed returns to Mogadishu and rules out deployment of U.N. troops
Dec - Security Council endorses full-scale military operation led by United States. U.S. Marines hit Mogadishu's beaches in "Operation Restore Hope"
1993
Jan - At U.N. talks in Addis Ababa, feuding clan militias sign first of many pacts to stop fighting
Oct - Eighteen U.S. Army Rangers and one Malaysian killed when Somali militias shoot down two U.S. helicopters in Mogadishu. Hundreds of Somalis die in ensuing fighting. U.S. mission formally ends in March 1994
1995 - U.N. peacekeepers withdraw
1998 - Puntland region in northern Somalia declares independence
2000
May - Somali National Peace Conference brings together more than 2,000 participants
Aug - Transitional National Government (TNG) is established to try to unite warring Somalis
2003
Sept - Factions agree to a transitional constitution and set five-year term for elections after TNG mandate expires in August
2004
Oct - Ethiopian-backed warlord Abdullahi Yusuf elected Somali president by lawmakers. In December, new Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Gedi swears in 27 ministers in Kenya
2005
Feb - Somali president and prime minister arrive in central Somali town of Jowhar for first time since their government was formed in Kenya
2006
Jan - Somalia's president and parliamentary speaker reach deal to end government rift by holding parliamentary meeting inside Somalia within 30 days
Feb 26 - Parliament holds first meeting inside country since interim government was formed
March - U.N. warns famine could kill 10,000 people a month if rainy season fails
Fierce fighting breaks out in Mogadishu between warlords and Islamist militants. European Commission officially recognises Somalia's interim government, and signs pact with government making it easier for EC to channel aid to Somalia
May - Another bout of violence breaks out between Islamic militia and warlords, killing around 150 people
Jun - Islamist militia take control of Mogadishu
Arab League begins mediation between Islamists and government. Interim government and Islamic Courts movement recognise each other in their first direct high-level talks in Sudan
Jul - Ethiopian troops reported to have crossed into Somalia. Ethiopia denies. U.N. Security Council expresses willingness to consider long-delayed deployment of foreign peacekeepers. Interim government postpones peace talks, accusing Islamists of violating a ceasefire
Growing number of ministers quit interim government, after trying unsuccessfully to remove prime minister from power. Diplomats say move is in protest at Gedi's reluctance to engage with Islamists, and is aimed at facilitating peace talks. One minister is assassinated outside a mosque in Baidoa
A conventional passenger plane flies in and out of Mogadishu's re-opened international airport for first time in 11 years
Aug - Somalia's cabinet dissolved
Gedi swears in slimmed-down, 31-member cabinet but doesn't appoint any Islamists
Sep - Islamists and interim government meet at talks hosted by Arab League and agree to unified military front, but stall on political issues over Islamists' demand for Ethiopia to withdraw troops
East African Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) continues to push forward a plan to send peacekeepers to Somalia, despite opposition by both Islamists and interim government
Gunmen kill Italian nun working at a children's hospital in north Mogadishu
Somalia's first known suicide bombing targets president in Baidoa. Attack kills five people including Yusuf's brother. Administration blames al Qaeda
Islamists take control of port city of Kismayu, saying they're defending country from any invasion attempts by Ethiopia or Uganda
Oct - Islamists declare holy war against Ethiopia, which they accuse of invading Somalia to help the interim government. Ethiopia still denies any incursion
Nov - Islamists capture town near semi-autonomous Puntland, which has strong ties with Ethiopia. Transitional government and Islamists fail to meet for scheduled peace talks
Report by U.N. Monitoring Group says 10 countries, including members of IGAD bloc of six eastern African countires, continue to violate U.N. arms embargo
Dec - Aid agencies say worst floods in years kill more than 100 people and affect at least 350,000
Security Council passes resolution endorsing African peacekeepers for Somalia
Islamists tell Ethiopia to leave Somalia within seven days or face war. Fighting starts on Dec 19 following end of deadline
Ethiopia publically admits military involvement in Somalia. Ethiopian jets strike Islamist-controlled airport of Baledogle, Somalia's biggest military airfield, and Mogadishu
Somali government forces and Ethiopian allies march into Mogadishu after Islamist rivals abandon the city
2007Jan - Somali government and Ethiopian troops seize Kismayu, the Islamists' last remaining stronghold. U.S. forces launch air strikes in south Somalia, targeting suspected al Qaeda cell. More U.S. strikes follow over coming months. Three-month state of emergency declared by interim government
Feb - Security Council authorises African Union peacekeeping mission
Mar - First Ugandan peacekeepers arrive. Insurgents drag soldiers' bodies through Mogadishu during heavy fighting with Ethiopian and government forces. Ethiopian helicopter gunships fire rockets on insurgents' strongholds in north Mogadishu in first use of aerial power in capital
May - U.N. aid chief John Holmes says aid workers are only reaching about a third of thousands who fled Mogadishu. He calls it world's worst displacement crisis in terms of numbers and access. World Food Programme says increasing piracy is threatening food supplies
Jun - Ethiopia says will withdraw troops once peace is established
Jul - National reconciliation conference opens in Mogadishu amid upsurge in violence. Islamist leaders refuse to attend
Sep - New opposition alliance meets in Asmara, Eritrea, and says it will campaign for military and diplomatic solution to conflict
Oct - Prime Minister Ghedi resigns
Nov - U.N. special envoy Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah says humanitarian crisis is worst in Africa. Nur Hassan Hussein sworn in as new prime minister. U.N. says 1 million Somalis now displaced, and nearly 200,000 fled Mogadishu in previous fortnight
2008
Jan - Many aid agencies pull out international staff after series of kidnappings and killings, including incidents in Puntland, formerly regarded as relatively safe
May - Ethiopia says it will keep troops inside Somalia until Islamists are defeated
U.N. Security Council allows countries to send warships to tackle pirates in Somalia's waters
Jun - Government signs three-month ceasefire pact with opposition Alliance for Re-Liberation of Somalia, which says Ethiopian troops will leave Somalia within 120 days. Islamists reject deal, vowing to continue fighting until all foreign troops have left
Jul - Head of U.N. Development Programme in Somalia, Osman Ali Ahmed, killed by gunmen in Mogadishu. World Food Programme says surge in attacks on aid workers is threatening entire aid response, and warns resulting humanitarian disaster would rival that of 1992-3 famine
Oct - Coordinated suicide car bombings across relatively peaceful regions of Somaliland and Puntland kill at least 30 people
Somali government and faction of Alliance for Re-Liberation of Somalia sign ceasefire in Djibouti and agree to national unity govt, dependent on Ethiopian troop withdrawal by early 2009
Fighting reported between Islamic Courts and al Shabaab Islamist factions near Mogadishu
Nov - President Abdullahi Yusuf says Islamists control most of country and warns government could completely collapse
Yusuf and Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein fail to agree new cabinet or form new transitional government by Nov. 12 deadline set by Africa's Inter-Governmental Authority on Development. Hardline Islamists do not attend new round of peace talks in Djibouti. Ethiopia says will withdraw troops by end-2008
Dec - Yusuf sacks Hussein. Parliament votes to reinstate him, but Yusuf names former interior minister Mohamed Mohamud Guled as new prime minister, deepening rifts in fractured government. Guled resigns, saying he does not want to be stumbling block to peace process, and Hussein reinstated. Yusuf resigns and Parliament speaker Sheikh Aden Madobe becomes interim president in line with the constitution. Elections due to be held within 30 days
2009
Jan - Ethiopia begins withdrawing its troops
