Somali Civil War

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Since the dawn of European Imperialism Africa has displayed many examples of seemingly unjustified hatred for one another. One of such examples is the Somali Civil War. To comprehend the atrocities of this conflict, one must first examine the causes, details, inhumanities, leaders, and attempted resolutions. The causes of this conflict lie in the historical context. During Europe’s imperial conquest of Africa, Somalia was one of the various regions divvied up amongst the European powers. When Somalia achieved its independence from Great Britain in 1960, it was thrust into the heat of the Cold War. During this time Somalia became awash with Soviet Cold War arms (Gorman 18). The Somali government became a puppet of the Soviet Union; a mere pawn in a global conflict. This communist government ruled with an iron fist, keeping in check a tidal wave of tribal violence. You see, the geographical area of Somalia isn’t defined by tribal boundaries. Within the country, you have the first division of nomadic and non-nomadic people. 80% of Somalis are members of the nomadic Hawiye, Darod, Isaaq, and Dir tribes. The other 20% are non-nomadic, belonging to the Rahanweya and Digil clans. Because of this, Somali society has been eternally cursed to civil strife (Gorman 18). Throw in the end of the Cold War and the fall of a totalitarian government, and you have a bomb on the brink of destruction. The Somali Civil War began on November 17, 1991. This stemmed from the fall of dictator Said Barre’s communist government. Within 2 months, 20,000 people were killed (Forrest 1). The fuel for this fire was inter-clan strife. The various clans were all vying to fill the vacuum formed by the fall of the government. Then, things got worst. A famine of “Old Testament proportions” swept through the nation, starving more than 300,000 Somalis in the process. A warlord from the Hawiye clan by

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