The Vast Warfront in Somalia

War is generally a term associated with extensive battles between two nations that are heavily in dispute with one another. However, war isn’t necessarily determined by this loose definition. In the Horn of Africa is Somalia, a nation is deeply intertwined in various conflicts which all seem to be reciprocating a large amount of violence throughout the country with no clear end to it in site. Essentially, Somalia is in a tight state of war, something that has been constant for about two decades now. The country is currently made up of a mesh of various conflicts that are contributing to the continued state of warfare.

Somalia is a failed state, being without an effective government since 1991. This lengthy problem has naturally led to heightened instability in turn creating a cesspit of utter chaos in numerous sectors within country. Since 2006, the country has been under the control of Al Shabab, one of Africa’s most feared Islamic militant groups. Even though its presence has recently diminished within the country, the central government in the capital of Mogadishu is still being fought over by clan warlords, Islamic militias, and extremist forces of other African governments. Fighting in the regions the Shabab is slowly losing control over has generated escalated violence, even though this primary militant group has been edging towards a less violent presence (Sayare). The stench of political corruption is a something that will not dissipate anytime soon.

In conjunction with the actions of Al Shabab, Somalia has been plagued by drought for numerous years now. The drought was first prominent in the 1990’s, and just recently it resurfaced in the summer months of 2011. Since Somalia has been defined by violence and drought for approximately twenty years now, large aid organizations, such as Oxfam International, have attempted to step in to help alongside UN troops (Famine in Somalia). They have appointed local peoples to help them with tasks like distributing food. Despite this, Al Shabab and apathetic vagabonds/criminals bearing arms have blocked the food deliveries to the starving people in need of nutrition. With the prolonging of the food deliveries, the death toll of the country has further been contributed to. The blocking of food aid within the already chaotic mess of the nation led the UN in the 1990’s to send about 25,000 American troops to Somalia with instructions to hold back gunmen in order to allow time to give the food directly to the starving people. With not enough people receiving food due to the warlike environment, suppressed immune systems have once again begun to be prime areas for disease, killing even more famished people than ever. Overall, the spread of this violence has aided in turning a natural drought into a major famine, which in turn makes it difficult for international organizations to reach desperate Somali people. (Sayre)

One the final layers that has been added to this complex, internal dilemma is occurring on the high seas. This problem, which has drawn widespread international attention, concerns a new type of violence: modern piracy with Somali Pirates off of the east coast of Africa. The so-called “piracy industry” in this area is exploding. Domestic disorder has given way to this piracy, which is at its core an extension of the violence happening on the mainland that the government is unable to control (Jones). Due to this, Somalia has the added reputation for having the most dangerous shipping lanes in the world. What has come of this strife? More and more people, especially tourists, dwelling on the coastline are being taken hostage/killed and boats are being savagely attacked/hijacked. The prowess of these Somali pirates is astounding. As The New York Times states, “In 2008, more than 120 pirate attacks occurred in the Gulf of Aden [which is located north of Somalia], far more than in any other year in recent memory. Experts said the Somali pirates netted more than $100 million, an astronomical sum for a war-racked country whose economy is in tatters” (Piracy at Sea).

What this ultimately comes to represent is the infiltration of warlike tactics at all levels in the various geographical and political regions of Somalia. What once stated as the “basic” corruption of a government is actually a chain reaction of recurrent events simply leading to more violence in a realm of Trinitarian warfare. No longer are the people, politicians, and military in a symmetrical relationship with one another, but rather in the crossfire of each sector’s once separate conflicts. This might not be a typical war per say, but the events in Somalia in relation to the viciousness of the assorted groups has solidified Somalia’s state of messy warfare.

The state has undoubtedly given way to forces outside corrupt government officials in Somalia. Being unstable as it is, it’s easier for new non-state actors to become more involved in the mix of violence. The tactics that they are using can constitute as asymmetrical warfare, seeing that they are using within their own borders peculiarly effective tactics tailored to their atrocious goals. Essentially, the non-state actor groups using violent means to claim their stake in the nation’s power has led to a plethora of new forms of combat. These interesting tactics and the regionalization of the war in Somalia have fostered a greater sense of fear within the people, making the area even more unattractive and chaotic. Both transcendental and programmatic rights of the people are being ignored. The UN estimated that nearly half of the Somali population is in crisis at the moment (Famine in Somalia). The war is mainly an internal conflict, but it demonstrates the complexity of how unstable warring states, especially those in Africa today, are susceptible to modern variances of violence in both the civilian and governmental sectors. Who’s to say that the nations surrounding Somalia will end up in total chaos just like Somalia soon due to these acts of terrorism? This plausible situation is becoming a reality, especially neighboring countries like Kenya, as Somalia’s symptoms begin to penetrate international borders (Sayare).

In addition to all this, we must also consider that relatively speaking, there is no accurate collection of data counting how many people have become casualties. There are so many levels of violence in this war torn area that it is hard to tell who are causalities of this massive conflict. Is there any way of categorizing these causalities? Should they all just be listed under a general category of casualties of the Somali state at this point? There are no direct targets now, and indirectly there are more unaccounted deaths than meets the eye. Over the course of this twenty-year reign of the Somali war, the culmination of the events is shocking when one looks at where they have led the Somalia today. The Somali war crisis has stricken with a mindset of the people in the area.

Somalia is stuck under the dominion of war, something that it has gotten to know extremely well over the past couple of decades. Acts of violence have given way to progressively new warlike tactics. The problems Somalia faces keep building up with no ending point, continuously weakening it. As of now, it appears that there is no hope in ending this disastrous situation.

Works Cited:

"Famine in Somalia: Here's How to Help." NBC Nightly News. Msnbc.com, 26 Sept. 2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2011. .

Sayare, Scott. "Somalia News." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 17 Oct. 2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2011. .

Jones, Bryony. "Fears Grow over Somali Pirates' 'new Tactics' after Kidnaps, Killing - CNN." CNN.com. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., 04 Oct. 2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2011. .

"Piracy at Sea." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 24 Feb. 2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2011. .