Strange how an African country can be moving from prolonged chaos to violent collapse and no one in the world notices until a couple of European boats get seized by armed gunmen.
War-ravaged Somalia is in the worst shape it has been in for years — which, for this devastated country that has not had a proper government for nearly a generation, is really saying something.
Yet neither of the two resolutions currently in preparation at the UN Security Council mention the 85 dead in Mogadishu last weekend or the exodus of newly displaced persons from that city or Ethiopian shelling of civilian areas or the dwindling international humanitarian response.
Instead, one of the resolutions proposed by France, the US and Britain is a reaction to the hijacking of a French yacht and a Spanish fishing vessel and would authorize countries to fight piracy off Somalia’s coast.
It is like watching flames engulf your neighbor’s house and calling in the fire brigade to help you wash your car.
The death and displacement in Somalia are caused by the violent confrontation between the evaporating transitional government troops and their Ethiopian allies on the one hand and insurgents on the other.
Officials in African and western capitals shrug their shoulders when confronted with the dire situation in Somalia.
A lack of political will, investment and imagination have made Somalia a hopeless case in their eyes.
Realizing no one in power cares in the slightest, most international media have also been ignoring Somalia, barely mentioning the recent heavy fighting in Mogadishu, for example.
Ethiopian troops have been accused of having targeted mosques and killing religious leaders and civilians in the north of the capital. Whole areas of Mogadishu were sealed off, leaving outsiders only to guess the gravity of the plight in those sectors. Did anyone hear about any of this?
But pirates taking a French luxury yacht? That story was hard to miss.
According to the UN, 2.5 million people are in urgent need of assistance in Somalia. About 7,50,000 alone were displaced from Mogadishu over the last 15 months. Critical water shortages and a severe drought have befallen central and northern Somalia, further aggravating the hardship for the civilian population.
The verdict seems to be clear: Combined Ethiopian, African Union troops and transitional government forces have failed to establish security in the capital Mogadishu or any other part of the country.
Islamist al-Shabaab militants in southern and central Somalia are combining their military operations with political outreach. Ultimately, the rise and consolidation of an Islamist movement pursuing a regional and international agenda will create a growing threat to the rest of the Horn of Africa.
A narrow window of opportunity has emerged in the form of Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein’s recent offer to negotiate with both the internal and external opposition, including al-Shabaab, many members of which belong to the clan controlling Mogadishu, the Hawiye. This bold political initiative led by a widely respected figure, if seized upon, could potentially usher in an inclusive Somali national political dialogue.
Source: IHT, April 29, 2008
