Vol 47 No 16 | SOMALIA Courts without authority 4th August 2006 Clan rivalries still outweigh the hope of a national government, as the neighbours look on nervously Somalia's domestic strife is nowhere near its end. The rival authorities, the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Baidoa and the Supreme Islamic Courts Council (SICC) - until 24...
Vol 47 No 13 | SOMALIA Islamist takeover 23rd June 2006 Clans switch sides to overthrow the warlords but will they stay loyal to the Islamic Courts The lightning take over by the Islamic Courts Union on 14 June surprised almost everyone, not least the United States CIA. The warlords crumbled almost overnight and with...
Vol 47 No 11 | SOMALIA Terror in Mogadishu 26th May 2006 In its bid to defeat Islamists, the CIA has become entangled in Mogadishu's clan warfare This month's fighting in Mogadishu has been the heaviest for years. Between 7 and 12 May, over 200 people died, at least 1,000 were injured and the price...
Vol 47 No 8 | SOMALIAUNITED STATES Foreign funds 14th April 2006 Disquiet is growing over President George Bush's policy in Somalia amid reports of an executive security order to arm a local 'antiterrorist alliance' in contravention of the United...
Vol 46 No 18 | SOMALIA Roadblock 9th September 2005 The government cannot get to the capital, where Islamists and many others reject it President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed's plans for foreign troops to provide the security he needs to allow him to go back to Mogadishu are still blocked. After much international...
Vol 46 No 18 | SOMALIA Islamists at work 9th September 2005 Al Itihaad al Islamia (AIAI, Islamic Unity), the most fervent and best organised of Somalia's Islamist groups, has links to several members of the Transitional Federal Government now...
Vol 46 No 13 | SOMALIA Diverted flight 24th June 2005 After more delays and disputes, some of the would-be government heads home When the new Transitional Federal Government (TFG) made its grand departure from Nairobi, representatives of the international community lined up to wish President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed well and...
Vol 46 No 13 | SOMALIA The clans line up 24th June 2005 The idea of the Transitional Federal Government was to share senior appointments proportionally: four for the big clans (Darod, Rahenweyn, Dir, Hawiye) and one-half for others, such as...
Vol 46 No 11 | SOMALIA Surreal 27th May 2005 Somalia's foreign partners are wondering how long its Transitional Federal Government (TFG) can last. Since they painstakingly arranged for its creation, two big things have gone wrong. President...
Vol 45 No 16 | SOMALIA Parliament in sight 6th August 2004 By squeezing the delegates, mediators hope to get a faction leaders' parliament Somalia is about to be endowed with a parliament, say mediators at the reconciliation conference in Nairobi. They have been squeezing the delegates. In May, the foreign ministers...