International spotlight was focused on Somalia during the recent London Conference of February 23 to find a lasting solution to the problem of that war-torn Horn of Africa nation. Convened to discuss developments in Somalia and explore ways of carting a new course for the country, it was attended by fifty five delegations. Ideally, the African Union should be in the forefront of finding a solution to what is essentially an African problem. But given the duration and apparent intractability of the conflict, external assistance would be considered in order as long as it would help in bringing about peace.

For two decades after the overthrow of the country’s independence president Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991, Somalia has been without a central government, and manifesting all the signs of being a failed state. Racked by conflicts and without this central authority, the country has split into three, with the two semi-autonomous states of Puntland and Somaliland, and the rest of Somalia.

Several attempts at putting the country back together again have been unsuccessful, completed by competing interests and demands of the warring parties. An ill-fated military intervention by the US in 1992 and an invasion by Ethiopia in 2006 brought no relief either. Although Ethiopian forces, in collaboration with Somalia’s Transitional Government (TFG) troops succeeded in dislodging the once-powerful Islamic Courts Union (ICU) that for a time controlled much of thae country.

The ICU a militant Islamist group had seized control of much of the south. It was credited with restoring a semblance of stability in the country but, following its defeat, splintered into factions, giving birth to Al-Shabaab.

With no oil and no known mineral resource, Somalia has attracted increasing international attention largely due to the activities of pirates disrupting international trade off the Somali coast, driving up shipping costs. To make matters worse, the situation has been compounded by criminals who engage in kidnapping and terrorism.

A confluence of factors was responsible for the convening of the London conference, the most important being the peace enforcement initiatives of the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), consisting of troops from Uganda and Burundi  that have succeeded, among other achievements, in driving A-l Shabaab insurgents out of Mogadishu.

Uganda and Burundi deserve commendation for taking the lead in sending troops to Somalia on a dangerous mission where bigger and more powerful African countries had not been forthcoming on that front.  Secondly, by joining the fray, Somalia’s immediate neighbours - Ethiopia and Kenya have also contributed to putting the insurgents on the run, capturing towns previously held by Al-Shabaab, recently Kismayu and Baidoa.

Ethiopia has a history of military intervention in Somalia, while Kenya is a newcomer, although it has borne the brunt of the conflict in Somalia. Aside from hosting about 500,000 Somali refugees, the kidnapping of Western tourists on its soil provoked Kenya into joining the battle in hot pursuit of Al-Shabaab blamed for it.  Kenya stopped the exports of charcoal to the Middle East through the port of Kismayu, shutting off a major source of income for Al-Shabaab.

Given the shift in the balance of forces on the ground, a window of opportunity was provided for the international community to seize the initiative and focus attention on the possibility of bringing an end to the conflict.

As if taking a cue from AMISOM, Western powers, such as the US and Britain, have lately adopted a more robust approach to tackling Somali pirates and kidnappers through the use of force.

The conference communiqué provided a roadmap towards improving the situation on the ground in Somalia, with a view to reaching a final resolution of the conflict. It is to be hoped that enough pressure would be exerted on Al-Shabaab and its backers, to end the bloodshed in a war that they clearly cannot win. The people of Somalia deserve a respite from this senseless conflict.

Source: The Daily Trust

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