What the heck is going on in Somalia?

Question

Could someone please elaborate on the whole situation in Somalia? (and be as specific & thorough as possible) Thanks :D

Answer 1

Somalia is trying to keep out Islamic Militants from taking over their Country. Government troops and the Somalians have succeeded. Thousands have died, namely the Islamic Militants. The government Troops are mighty Warriors. Thousands have fled the Country to get away from the fighting.

Answer 2

Alright so basically Somalia hasn't had a real government for more than a decade. This past year there were 2 "governments" in Somalia. One which is called UIC which assembled on its own and enforces Islamic Sharia law very strictly and another more western appointed by the UN.

UIC took over the capital Mogadishu I believe last summer. And the interim government was losing a lot of power and authority. The US media only points out the bad of the UIC but they also did a lot of good for Somalia.

Somewhere in the mix in all the struggle for power in the country there were claims that Somali had al-Qaeda training camps and they were harboing terrorists. So that's why the US made all these strikes and etc. They said they were supporting the UN backed interim government and trying to help them make a stable country.

But another thing that took place right before the airstrikes which I've never heard from the American media is that the interim government invited Ethiopian troops to Somalia in order th try and get rid of the UIC governement. So now Ethiopia i believe is still in Somalia they say making sure no terrorists escape. But yeah i believe thats crap. I think Eithiopia just wants to control Somalia like they've tried before and also with Eritrea in the past.

But there are mixed feelings with Somalis. My tribe is against the UN backed government because they aren't helping the country and why would they invite another country in? But others are happy and they think they will help and that people from their tribe will come in power. But i guess we'll find out in the near future. Hoped this help!

Answer 3

Somalis have been fighting each other for decades and since 1991, they basically have not had a real government, just war lords and tribes fighting each other. Quite an unpleasant country.
What happened now is that during the beginning of 2006 a new force emerged called the the union of Islamic Courts ( UIC, i think, though I'm not sure). This UIC is very, very extremists and fundamentalist when it comes to its interpretation of Islam. In all respects, it is another Taliban and we all know that the Taliban did in Afghanistan.
Anyway, the UIC, throughout the first half of 2006 basically took over most of the country, except for a small area around a city called Baidoa, in which the "legitimate" government was holed up. I say legitimate because this was the government that was created through international agreement and has international backing.
When the UIC in December began their final assault on Baidoa, neighboring Ethiopia rushed to rescue it and in the process invaded the whole country, along with the Somali government troops.
What was surprising was that the UIC crumbled very quickly and in a matter of weeks the Somali government and Ethiopian troops retook most of the country.
What interests us here in the rest of the world about this story is that there was alot of concern that with the UIC, like Afghanistan under the Taliban, Somalia would become a haven for militants and extremists. There was indeed alot of evidence that those responsible for the bombing of US embassies in eastern African in the 1990's were living there under the protection of the UIC, along with other Al-Qaida and Al-Qaida affiliated leaders.
I'm personally not sure that the trouble is over for Somalia, but we'll have to wait and see for that.
I hope that answers your question.

Answer 4

they US is meddling there.