Somalia’s political and societal breakdown and the famine that accompanied were results of political and economic problems that are common to most sub-Sahara African countries. Now, it is the turn of war. Heavy fighting has broken out in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, between government forces backed by Ethiopian troops and armed insurgents.
The unending crisis in Somalia is the result of a succession of repressive regimes and their unsuccessful domestic policies. Faulty political and economic models have led to depressing growth in economy in general and per capita income in particular. And to add insult to injury, depression in economy is linked to falling rates of food production, periodic famines, and disregard of basic liberties, inherent corruption, and ongoing civil wars.In the ongoing war, the heaviest since the since the Islamists fell last year, seven people were killed in the battle. Angry crowds pelted stones and dragged the bodies of dead soldiers through the streets. Several people have lost their lives during insurgent attacks (remnants of the Union of Islamic Courts) in Mogadishu in the past two and a half months. Ethiopian and Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces killed several hundreds of Islamist armed forces and scattered the rest in a rigorous exercise.
Excessive intervention by the US and UN forces has only resulted in embroiling the situation. The U.S. and UN forces are unlikely to resolve the country’s crisis because they do not offer solutions based on African initiatives. On the contrary, dozens of UN and U.S. troops have already been killed by Somalis, who are angry with those forces for trying to impose a settlement to Somalia’s complex political turmoil.
There has been a dramatic escalation in attacks against government targets in recent weeks. It will only put Somalia under more burden. Somalia’s latest crisis has reminded the world that chronic violence, famine, and stagnation remain unfortunate features of much of black Africa. But Somalia’s plight also holds lessons for the future of the region. But, the solution doesn’t lie with US or the UN alone. In fact, a long term solution to Somalia’s problem in particular and Africa’s in general can come only from Africans themselves. Africa should be let free to govern itself without any intervention from whatsoever. Traditional African systems of participatory government and open markets should be allowed to pervade. Though the transformation will not happen overnight, yet it can be hoped that time will pave the way for a free and prosperous society. The UN and the US must let Africans do their best for the country and work out their own destiny.
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