Somali’s Plea for Foreign Troops Comes Up Short

More than 24 hours ago, Somalia’s Parliament made a plea to neighboring countries to send reinforcements.  The growing violence in the war-torn country has escalated with the killing of 3 high profile government officials. Previous areas designated for refugees, are being taken over by insurgents and according to the Parliament Speaker, Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur, “The government is weakened by the rebel forces”.

Somalia: The Other Conflict

It’s weird to hear that a country has had no structural government since 1991.  But this is Somalia’s case.  Since the ousting of Siad Barre the country has not seen a centralized government.  Like most African countries, Somalia is home to many diverse cultural tribes.  During Barre’s rule, many tribes felt they were not represented fairly if at all.  As a result, many tribes formed their own militia and began in-fighting to gain control of certain areas.