a little bit of background

Somalia’s cultural and historical heritage has been deeply rooted with time; however, in the last several decades the country’s wellbeing has been greatly stained. The introduction of corrupt officials and foreign imposters has led the country into a devastating civil war based off years of destruction and instability. The conflict can be traced back to the Oagden War, a Somali effort to gain the Ogaden area of Ethiopia. This effort was an attempt to unify several territories under the Somali flag as the small country expanded their borders into neighboring Ethiopia. Somali’s conflict with Ethiopia occurred during the Cold War Era and after the USSR switched from aiding Somalia to supporting Ethiopia, the United States, who previously backed Ethiopia, began supplying aid to Somalia. Despite having support from the two greatest world powers, the Ogaden conflict ended without resolve and forces retreated across their respected borders. During the war, however, the US had supplied large amounts of weapons to the anti- communist government of Siad Barre. After the war these weapons went into circulation amongst rising factions all while the communist- backed Ethiopian government began supporting rebels in Somalia. The country was turning into a ticking time bomb during a time where support for Barre was crashing. Factions rose to take advantage of the chaos and weapons fell into the hands of different clans and their forces. The central government lost control and the country could not function. By the 90s, Siad Barre’s government’s only source of control was over Mogadishu which was eventually overthrown by rebels whose factions were continuing to split and threatening each other. Neighboring countries tried to lend a helping hand but the country was slipping too fast. By 1993, the United Nations and the US sent humanitarian troops overseas. During this time, two thirds of Somalia’s land had also been granted as oil concession which promptly rose some eyebrows towards the motivation behind these relief missions. Relief efforts did not, however, sufficiently reversed the chaos and violence occurring in Somalia. In 2004, the Translational Federal Government was installed by the UN but it quickly came head to head with old rising regimes. The Islamic Courts Union (ICU), funded by the US CIA, began consolidating power in 2006 and was able to capture Mogadishu in the Second Battle of Mogadishu against the Transitional Federal Government. The Ethiopian government, who once supported Somali rebels, now has joined the central government’s effort against the ICU. There is no longer a national government in Somalia. There are parts of the north that are currently relatively peaceful, including the self-declared "Republic of Somaliland,” however, factional fighting continues.