SOMALIA

CAPITAL: Mogadishu (Muqdisho)

FLAG: The national flag is light blue with a five-pointed white star in the center.

ANTHEM: Somalia Hanolato (Long Live Somalia).

MONETARY UNIT: The Somali shilling (sh) of 100 cents is a paper currency. There are coins of 1, 5, 10, and 50 cents and 1 shilling, and notes of 5, 10, 20, 100, 500, and 1,000 shillings. sh1 = $0.00009 (or $1 = sh11,000; as of 2000).

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is in use.

HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Labor Day, 1 May; National Independence Day, 26 June; Foundation of the Republic, 1 July. Muslim religious holidays include 'Id al-Fitr, 'Id al-Adha', 'Ashura, and Milad an-Nabi.

TIME: 3 pm = noon GMT.

LOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT

Situated on the horn of East Africa, Somalia has an area of 637,657 sq km (246,201 sq mi), extending 1,847 km (1,148 mi) nne–ssw and 835 km (519 mi) ese–wnw. Comparatively, the area occupied by Somalia is slightly smaller than the state of Texas. It is bounded on the n by the Gulf of Aden, on the e and s by the Indian Ocean, on the sw by Kenya, on the w and nw by Ethiopia, and on the nw by Djibouti, with a total land boundary of 2,340 km (1,454 mi) and a coastline of 3,025 km (1,880 miles). The boundary with Djibouti has been fixed by international agreement, but the western border with Ethiopia remains in dispute.

Somalia's capital city, Mogadishu, is located on the Indian Ocean coast.

TOPOGRAPHY

The northern region is somewhat mountainous, containing two main ranges, the Migiurtina and the Ogo, with plateaus reaching between 900 and 2,100 m (3,000–7,000 ft). To the northeast there is an extremely dry dissected plateau that reaches a maximum elevation of nearly 2,450 m (8,000 ft). South and west of this area, extending to the Shabeelle River, lies a plateau region called the Mudug Plain whose maximum elevation is 685 m (2,250 ft). The region between the Juba and Shabeelle rivers is low agricultural land, and the area that extends southwest of the Jubba River to Kenya is low pastureland.

The Jubba and Shabeelle rivers originate in Ethiopia and flow toward the Indian Ocean. They provide water for irrigation but are not navigable by commercial vessels. The Shabeelle dries up before reaching the ocean. Despite its lengthy shoreline, Somalia has only one natural harbor, Berbera.

CLIMATE

Somalia has a tropical but not torrid climate, and there is little seasonal change in temperature. In the low areas, the mean temperature ranges from about 24°c to 31°c (75° to 88°f). The plateau region is cooler, the southwest warmer. The periodic winds, the southwest monsoon (June–September), and the northeast monsoon (December–March) influence temperature and rainfall. Rain falls in two seasons of the year: heavy rains from March to May, and light rains from September to December. Average annual rainfall is estimated at less than 28 cm (11 in). Droughts are not infrequent.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Acacia thorntrees, aloes, baobab, and candelabra trees are native to the semiarid regions. trees that provide frankincense and myrrh are native to the region as well. Southern forests include eucalyptus and mahogany. Mangrove, kapok, and papaya grow along the rivers. Coconut, dune palm, pine, juniper, cactus, and flowering trees such as the flamboyant were imported and have become widespread in the populated areas.

Along with its large livestock herd, Somalia has one of the most abundant and varied stocks of wildlife in Africa. Animal life includes the elephant, lion, wildcat, giraffe, zebra, hyena, hippopotamus, waterbuck, gazelle, dik-dik, lizard, crocodile, turtle, porcupine, baboon, and boar. There is a large variety of snakes, the best known being the puff adder, the spitting cobra, and the krait. Domestic animals are camels, sheep, goats, and cattle. The most common birds are the ostrich, duck, guinea fowl, bustard, partridge, green pigeon, sand grouse, and heron. As of 2002, there were at least 171 species of mammals, 179 species of birds, and over 3,000 species of plants throughout the country.

ENVIRONMENT

The increasing aridity of the Somali climate, coupled with excessive timber cutting and overgrazing, has led to deforestation and desertification. In nearly every five-year period, Somalis can anticipate two years of drought. Overgrazing between Mogadishu and Chisimayu has resulted in the gradual movement of coastal sand dunes inland, posing a serious threat to agricultural areas and human habitation. Somalia has about 6 cu km of renewable water resources with 97% of annual withdrawals used for farming, and 3% for urban and domestic use.

The hunting and trapping of antelopes and gazelles for their skins was banned in 1969. However, many species continue to be adversely affected by growing numbers of livestock, exclusion from watering spots by human settlement, and the cutting of bush vegetation and tree cover. According to a 2006 report issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), the number of threatened species included 15 types of mammals, 13 species of birds, 2 types of reptiles, 16 species of fish, 1 type of mollusk, and 17 species of plants. Threatened species in Somalia include the black rhinoceros, cheetah, Pelzeln's dorcas gazelle, Swayne's hartebeest, several species of shark, and the green sea, hawksbill, and leatherback turtles.

POPULATION

The population of Somalia in 2005 was estimated by the United Nations (UN) at 8,592,000, which placed it at number 88 in population among the 193 nations of the world. However, there has not been an official census since 1987 make reliable population data difficult to obtain. In addition, there is no central government to initiate positive population management policies. According to UN estimates in 2005, approximately 3% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 45% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 98 males for every 100 females in the country. The UN estimated the annual population rate of change for 2005–2010 to be 2.9%. The projected population for the year 2025 was 14,862,000. The population density was 14 per sq km (35 per sq mi).

The UN estimated that 33% of the population lived in urban areas in 2005, and that urban areas were growing at an annual rate of 5.40%. The capital city, Mogadishu (Muqdisho), had a population of 1,175,000 in that year. Hargeysa (the former capital of British Somaliland), had an estimated 150,000 inhabitants. Other cities included Chisimayu, Berbera, and Merca. Approximately 60% of the population is nomadic.

MIGRATION

Since about half of all Somalis are nomadic or seminomadic, there are substantial movements back and forth across the frontiers in the normal range of grazing activities. Within the country there has been a gradual migration toward the south and southwest, especially since the north was drought-stricken in the 1970s and early 1980s. A campaign of political terror began in 1986; so severe were the effects that it was estimated in 1993 that three-quarters of the population had been internally displaced since 1988.

The conflict with Ethiopia led to the influx of many refugees from the Ogaden, most of them ethnic Somalis. In 1990, an estimated 586,000 were being assisted by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in refugee camps. The government claimed the total number in refugee camps exceeded 1.3 million. Yet the political violence in Somalia was so extreme that about 600,000 people fled the country between 1988 and 1991.

After Siyad Barre's regime fell in January 1991, fighting began between 16 different rival factions in Somalia. These clan wars and the long drought led to over 900,000 Somalis fleeing to neighboring nations. Of these, some 400,000 went to Kenya. As of May 1997, there were still 285,000 Somali refugees in Ethiopia, 131,000 in Kenya, 20,000 in Djibouti, and 10,000 in Yemen. The total number of migrants living in Somalia in 2000 was estimated at 22,000. By the end of 2004, Somalis had expanded their search for refugee, and had fled in large numbers ten countries: 153,627 to Kenya; 63,511 to Yemen; 36,700 to the United Kingdom; 31,110 to the United States; 17,331 to Djibouti; 16, 470 to Ethiopia; and the remainder to Denmark, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Norway. More than half of these refugees were assisted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In that same year over 10,000 Somalis applied for asylum in 23 countries, principally in South Africa.

In 2004, there were 357 refugees in Somalia, 334 asylum seekers, and 18,069 returned refugees to Djibouti and Ethiopia. In 2005, the net migration rate was an estimated 5.9 migrants per 1,000 population. This was a significant change from -21.9 per 1,000 in 1990. The government views the migration levels as satisfactory.

ETHNIC GROUPS

The Somalis are classified as a Hamitic people with a Cushitic culture. It is believed that the Somalis descend from people who migrated from the equatorial lakes of Africa to settle in the area of Somalia's two rivers, there to intermix with pastoral groups from the north and migrants from the Arabian Peninsula, the Persian Gulf, and perhaps Southeast Asia.

Ethnic Somalis, who make up about 85% of the population, are divided into two main clan families: the Samaal, which includes the Darod, Isaaq, Hawiye, and Dir clan groups; and the Saab, which includes the Rahanweyn and Digil clans and other smaller clan groups. The Samaal are principally nomadic or seminomadic pastoralists; the Digil and Rahanweyn are primarily farmers and sedentary herders. There are also small Bantu-groups who living along the Shabeelle and Jubba rivers. Other smaller minority groups include the Benadiri, the Rer Hamar, Brawanese, Swahili, Tumal, Yibir, Yaxar, Madhiban, Hawrasmae, Muse Dheryo, and Faqayaqub.

The nonindigenous population consists primarily of Arabs, Italians, Pakistanis, and Indians. The Italians are mainly engaged in teaching, business, and banana production; the Arabs, Pakistanis, and Indians are primarily shopkeepers.

LANGUAGES

Somali, classified as a lowland Eastern Cushitic language, is spoken by all Somalis, with dialectal differences that follow clan family divisions. Loanwords from Arabic, English, and Italian have been thoroughly assimilated by Somali phonetic rules. Until 1972, the official languages of Somalia were oral Somali, Arabic, English, and Italian. In 1973, a written form of Somali, with a script based on the Latin alphabet, was adopted as the nation's chief official language. This official script largely replaced the use of English and Italian in newspapers and public documents. It is used in all schools. However, Arabic, English, and Italian are all still widely spoken and understood.

RELIGIONS

The Somalis are primarily Sunni Muslims of the Shafi'i sect. According to tradition, their ultimate ancestors were of the Qurayshitic lineage of the Prophet Muhammad. Except for a small number of urbanites influenced by higher education, all Somalis belong to one of the following brotherhoods: Qadiriyyah, Salihiyyah, Ahmadiyyah, and Rifaiyyah. As Muslims, they adhere to the law of the Shariah whenever it does not conflict with local customary law. A small, extremely low-profile Christian community does exist.

In 2004, a transitional government had not yet adopted a constitution; however, a Transitional Charter has established Islam as the state religion. Christian mission schools closed in 1972 and foreign Protestant missionaries were expelled in 1976. Proselytizing of any religion but Islam is illegal.

TRANSPORTATION

Of 22,100 km (13,733 mi) of roads in Somalia in 2002, only 2,608 km (1,621 mi) were paved. A 1,054-km (655-mi) road constructed with Chinese financing and work crew participation, completed in 1978, tied together the northern and southern parts of the country for the first time. Motor vehicles in use in 1995 numbered 24,000, divided equally between passenger cars and commercial vehicles. There are no railways and no commercial water transport facilities.

The ports of Mogadishu, Chisimayu, and Berbera are served by vessels from many parts of the world, as well as by Somali and Arab dhows. Mogadishu in recent years handled more than 70% of Somalia's export and import traffic. In 1995, the state-owned shipping line operated two oceangoing vessels totaling 5,529 GRT. However, by 2005 no merchant marine existed.

In 2004, there were an estimated 60 airports, but only 6 had paved runways as of 2005. The major airfields are in Mogadishu and Berbera. International air service has been provided by the state-owned Somali Airlines (among other carriers), which also has regular flights connecting Mogadishu with regional centers and with Kenya, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, the Comoros, Yemen, the Persian Gulf states, Frankfurt, Cairo, and Rome.

HISTORY

Somalia was known as the Land of Punt by ancient Egyptians, who came to Somalia's northern shores for incense and aromatic herbs. In the 9th or 10th century, Somalis began pushing south from the Gulf of Aden coast. About this time, Arabs and Persians established settlements along the Indian Ocean coast. During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese explorers attempted without success to establish Portuguese sovereignty over the Somali coast. Meanwhile, the main coastal centers continued to be controlled by Arab merchant families under the nominal suzerainty of the sultanate of Oman, which transferred its seat to Zanzibar in the early 19th century.

After the British armed forces occupied Aden in 1839, they developed an interest in the northern Somali coast. By 1874, Egyptians occupied several points on the shore, but their occupation was short-lived. From 1884 to 1886, the British signed a number of "protectorate" treaties with Somali chiefs of the northern area. The protectorate was first administered by the resident in Aden and later (1907) by the colonial office. From 1899 to 1920, British rule was constantly disrupted by the "holy war" waged by 'Abdallah bin Hasan (generally known in English literature as the "Mad Mullah").

Italian expansion in Somalia began in 1885, when Antonio Cecchi, an explorer, led an Italian expedition into the lower Juba region and concluded a commercial treaty with the sultan of Zanzibar. In 1889, Italy established protectorates over the eastern territories then under the nominal rule of the sultans of Obbia and of Alula; and in 1892, the sultan of Zanzibar leased concessions along the Indian Ocean coast to Italy. Direct administrative control of the territory known as Italian Somaliland was not established until 1905. The Fascist government increased Italian authority by its extensive military operations. In 1925, the British government, in line with secret agreements with Italy during World War I, transferred the Jubaland (an area south of the Jubba River) to Italian control. During the Italo-Ethiopian conflict (1934–36), Somalia was a staging area for Italy's invasion and conquest of Ethiopia. From 1936 to 1941, Somalia and the Somali-inhabited portion of Ethiopia, the Ogaden, were combined in an enlarged province of Italian East Africa.

In 1940–41, Italian troops briefly occupied British Somaliland but were soon defeated by the British, who conquered Italian Somaliland and reestablished their authority over British Somaliland. Although the Ogaden was returned to Ethiopia in 1948, British administration over the rest of Italian Somaliland continued until 1950, when Italy became the UN trusteeship authority. A significant impetus to the Somali nationalist movement was provided by the UN in 1949 when the General Assembly resolved that Italian Somaliland would receive its independence in 1960. By the end of 1956, Somalis were in almost complete charge of domestic affairs. Meanwhile, Somalis in British Somaliland were demanding self-government. As Italy agreed to grant independence on 1 July 1960 to its trust territory, the United Kingdom gave its protectorate independence on 26 June 1960, thus enabling the two Somali territories to join in a united Somali Republic on 1 July 1960. On 20 July 1961, the Somali people ratified a new constitution, drafted in 1960, and one month later confirmed 'Aden 'Abdullah Osman Daar as the nation's first president.

From the inception of independence, the Somali government supported the concept of self-determination for the people of the Somali-inhabited areas of Ethiopia (the Ogaden section), Kenya (most of the northeastern region), and French Somaliland (now the Republic of Djibouti), including the right to be united within a greater Somalia. Numerous border clashes occurred between Somalia and Ethiopia, and between Somalia and Kenya. Soviet influence in Somalia grew after Moscow agreed in 1962 to provide substantial military aid.

Abdirashid 'Ali Shermarke, who was elected president in 1967, was assassinated on 15 October 1969. Six days later, army commanders seized power with the support of the police. The military leaders dissolved parliament, suspended the constitution, arrested members of the cabinet, and changed the name of the country to the Somali Democratic Republic. Maj. Gen. Jalle Mohamed Siad Barre, commander of the army, was named chairman of a 25-member Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) that assumed the powers of the president, the Supreme Court, and the National Assembly. Siad Barre was later named president.

In 1970, President Siad Barre proclaimed "scientific socialism" as the republic's guiding ideology. This Marxist ideology stressed hard work and public service and was regarded by the SRC as fully compatible with Islam. A number of industries and large firms, especially foreign banks and oil companies, were nationalized. Self-help projects were instituted to clean up the towns and villages, construct roads and sidewalks, dig and maintain wells and irrigation canals, build infirmaries and schools, and stabilize sand dunes. In 1972, the SRC proclaimed the adoption of a Latin script for Somali; in 1973, it inaugurated widespread literacy campaigns. The drought that affected large areas of Africa from 1968 to 1973 became severe in Somalia in late 1974, and in November of that year, the SRC declared a state of emergency, set up relief camps, and initiated food rationing.

Controversy arose in 1975 over US charges that the USSR was developing a military installation at the port of Berbera. Somalia denied the charges and invited inspection by journalists and US congressmen, who reported that they had found evidence of Soviet missile-handling facilities there. Somali officials did acknowledge receipt of Soviet military and technical advisers. Meanwhile, Ethiopia claimed that a Soviet-equipped Somalia represented a threat to its security. That same year, Siad Barre extended formal recognition to the Western Somali Liberation Front in the Ogaden. Somali forces took part in the fighting but were defeated in 1977, soon after the USSR had swung its support to Ethiopia. Late in the year, Siad Barre expelled the Soviets. Relations with the United States warmed, and in 1980, in return for military and economic aid (about $80 million in 1982), Siad Barre agreed to allow the United States use of air and naval facilities at the northern port of Berbera, facilities that had been built by the USSR, and also at Mogadishu.

A new constitution was ratified in 1979. On 30 December 1979, an unopposed list of 171 candidates was elected to the People's Assembly, which, the following month, elected Siad Barre unanimously to a new term of office. (Unopposed elections were again held on 31 December 1984.) In October 1980, Siad Barre declared a state of emergency and reestablished the SRC, responding to the activities of an Ethiopian-backed opposition movement, the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF). The state of emergency was lifted in March 1982, but at midyear the insurgents, supported by a reported 10,000 Ethiopian troops, invaded Somalia. By December, however, only a small area was in insurgent or Ethiopian hands.

In January 1986, Siad Barre met with Lt. Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam, Ethiopia's head of state, in Djibouti, in an effort to improve relations between the two countries. Two other meetings of Somali and Ethiopian officials were held in May and August, but no agreement was reached. After Barre's unopposed reelection on 23 December 1986—the first direct presidential election in Somalia—Barre appointed a prime minister for the first time, Lt. Gen. Mohamed 'Ali Samater, the first vice president and minister of defense. The SSDF had virtually crumbled by the end of 1986, but in 1987 another insurgent group, the Somali National Movement, was conducting operations in the north (the former British Somaliland). In February 1987 relations between Somalia and Ethiopia deteriorated following an Ethiopian attack on six settlements. Growing out of the Soviet shift to the Ethiopian side, American-Somali relations became closer during the administration of US president Ronald Reagan. This included a 10-year agreement providing US forces access to naval and air facilities at Berbera and increasing US military aid to Somalia.

In 1988, both the Ethiopian and Somalian governments, faced by growing internal resistance, pledged to respect their border. But by 1990, the Somali regime was losing control. Armed resistance from the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF), the Somali Democratic Alliance (SDA), the Somali Democratic Movement (SDM), the Somali National Movement (SNM), the Somali Patriot Movement (SPM), and the United Somali Congress (USC) were turning Somali territory into a death trap. Government forces were no less ruthless. Each was led by a clan leader or local warlord. Donor nations threatened to cut off aid unless the atrocities were ended.

In March 1990, Barre called for dialogue and, possibly, an end to single-party rule, but he was eventually ousted and, in January 1991, he fled Mogadishu. The USC seized the capital, but fighting continued. The SNM controlled much of the north and declared its territory the independent state of "Somaliland." By December, the USC had split in two. One faction was led by Ali Mahdi Muhammad, the interim president, the other by Gen. Muhammad Farrah Aideed. They were from different subclans of the Hawiye clan. The fighting continued and the warring factions prevented people from planting and harvesting crops. Several hundred thousand people died. Far more were threatened by starvation. Over a half-million fled to Kenya. Contagious disease spread through refugee camps inside the country. The starvation and total breakdown of public services was publicized in the western media. Calls for the UN to intervene mounted. Yet, the food relief that was sent was stolen by soldiers and armed looters. Private relief efforts were frustrated and subject to extortion. Late on 3 December 1992, the UN Security Council passed a resolution to deploy a massive US-led international military intervention (UNITAF–United Task Force) to safeguard relief operations. By the end of December, Aideed and Ali Mahdi had pledged to stop fighting. The UNITAF spread throughout the country. Violence decreased dramatically. But later, gunmen began to appear again.

US forces shifted their mandate toward the UN-Boutros-Ghali position of trying to confiscate arms and "technicals"—vehicles with mounted heavy weapons. Although the problem of relief distribution had largely been solved, there was no central government, few public institutions, and local warlords and their forces became increasingly emboldened.

By early 1993, over 34,000 troops from 24 UN members—75% from the United States—were deployed. Starvation was virtually ended, a modicum of order was restored, and hope had returned. Yet, little was done to achieve a political solution or to disarm the factions. From January 1993 until 27 March, 15 armed factions haggled in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and finally reached agreement to end hostilities and to form a transitional National Council for a two-year period to serve as the political authority in Somalia.

On 4 May 1993, the relief effort, Operation Restore Hope, was declared successful and US force levels were sharply reduced. Command of relief, disarmament, and reconstruction work was assumed by the UN. This effort, UNOSOM II, featured Pakistani, US, Belgian, Italian, Moroccan, and French troops, commanded by a Turkish general. However, on 23 June 1993, 23 Pakistani soldiers were killed in an ambush, and the UN Security Council ordered the arrest of those responsible. Gen. Aideed's forces were blamed and a $25,000 bounty was placed on Aideed's head.

Mogadishu subsequently became a war zone. In early October 1993, 18 US Army Rangers were killed and 75 were wounded in a firefight. American public opinion turned against the effort forcing President Bill Clinton to withdraw US troops. Despite diplomatic overtures by his special envoy, Charles Oakley, and an inclusive UN-, and then Ethiopian-, sponsored set of talks, mediation failed. Kenya's President Daniel Arap Moi also mediated. After the US pullout, some 19,000 UN troops remained. Security Council Resolution (897) redefined the UNOSOM II mandate—emphasizing peacemaking and reconstruction—but it was a recognition that the assertive, coercive strategy of the UN had failed and that a more neutral role was necessary.

The United States completed its withdrawal of troops in March 1995, after which Mogadishu again disintegrated into chaos. The last of three major battles was engaged after peace talks between the factions collapsed in November 1996. Some 300 people, many civilians and aid workers, were killed in a month of fighting.

The hope for restored order was rekindled with the death of Gen. Aideed on 1 August 1996. Aideed's rivals declared a ceasefire, although his son and successor, Hussein Muhammad Aideed, vowed revenge and renewed the fight.

Because the factional splits were not based on ideological, religious, or issue differences, but instead were quests for power and riches, there was little hope for the restoration of a central government, and by the year 2000 the country was split into four pieces—Somaliland to the far north, Puntland to the northeast, South Mogadishu controlled by Hussein Muhamad Aideed and North Mogadishu dominated by Ali Mahdi. Islamic courts took on the task of establishing law and order.

Despite overtures by Libya to influence the political configuration, clan elders met in neighboring Djibouti, and at the Arta Peace Conference on 26 August 2000 established a three-year Transitional National Government (TNG) with Abdiqassim Salad Hassan as president. The purpose of the TNG was to restore stability. However, the TNG controlled only pockets of the capital and country, and by August 2003 the TNG was due to expire.

Meanwhile, on 14 April 2003 citizens in the self-declared republic of Somaliland, went to the polls to elect a president in Somaliland's first multiparty election. After disputing the results, the Kulmiye party's presidential candidate, Ahmad Muhammad Silanyo, said that the intervention of elders and others had persuaded him to accept the outcome, perhaps with promises for a power-sharing deal. Incumbent president Dahir Riyale Kahin of the Unity of Democrats Party (UDUB) was declared the winner by the Somaliland Election Commission (SEC), a decision that later was confirmed by the constitutional court.

By July 2003, more than 350 delegates had gathered for a national conference held in Kenya—Somalia's 14th peace talks in ten years—to vote on a parliament that would elect an interim president, who would then appoint a prime minister. Delegates, who were to elect a president from among more than 30 candidates, broke through a serious impasse by selecting a federal system of government and nominating a 351-member parliament to serve a four-year term. However, Hassan threatened to withdraw from the talks unless various grievances were resolved including complaints that the parliament was too large, that elders alone should elect the president, and that Arabic must not be considered a second language. Further, the proposal to federate the country according to existing jurisdictions was rejected by Hassan because in his opinion it would dismember Somalia into a collection of small states and deepen existing divisions in the country. Indeed, some counterterrorism experts feared that a federal system would encourage warlordism and provide safe havens for international terrorists. Finally, in late 2004 a new federal transitional parliament (FTP) was formed.

Moving the FTP to Somalia proved a dangerous proposition. The prime minister's first visit to Mogadishu was marred by an explosion at a rally, and in November 2005, six people were killed and 20 injured in an attack on his convoy. That same month, the son of an FTP official was shot and killed, and some 12 people were killed and 21 wounded as the result of fighting triggered by Islamic militias bent on closing cinemas and video stores. In early 2006 clan militias killed some 30 people and wounded 70 more in fighting in the southern port city of Chisimayu and in towns in Mudug and Galguduud.

In December 2005 the peace process was jeopardized further when the Mogadishu faction of the FTP elected a regional council to govern Banaadir (greater Mogadishu). Many of the electees belonged to the Hawiye clan, which surrounds Mogadishu. Some observers viewed this development as a direct affront to the authority of and a formal break with the Jowhar interim government.

The following month, thanks to mediation by Yemen, President Yusuf and Parliament Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden—the leader of the Mogadishu faction—declared that they would cooperate with each other, and in February the FTP met on Somali soil for the first time at a food warehouse in the central town of Baidoa. Some 205 of the 275 MPs attended. Surrounded by heavy security, President Yusuf made strong appeals for peace, unity, and national security. Those not attending the meeting were mostly Mogadishu warlords, who were determined to move the government from Jowar (56 miles north of Mogadishu) back to Mogadishu. They also disagreed over the perceived need for foreign peacekeepers in the country.

According to a report by the International Crisis Group (ICG), international donors were most likely to succeed in promoting peace in Somalia by not backing one faction over another in the divided TFG, and instead support the transitional federal charter, revive the parliament, and establish a government of national unity. This approach, according to ICG, stood the best chance of preventing Somalia from becoming a haven for terrorists.

GOVERNMENT

Somalia is perhaps the world's best-known example of a failed state. Its governments have been as fractured as they have been ineffective, and since independence have only nominally ruled the territory within its borders. Since 1991, there has been no recognized permanent central government, and both Somaliland and Puntland—formally part of Somalia—have declared their autonomy. Puntland, which has exercised self-rule since 1998, has not declared its intention to become independent, while Somaliland seeks international recognition as an independent state.

From July 1961 to October 1969, Somalia was a parliamentary democracy based on the principle of separation of powers. After the army's seizure of power in October 1969, Maj. Gen. Siad Barre was named chairman of the 25-member SRC, which then elected him president. A constitution, approved in January 1979 by the ruling Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party and ratified by popular referendum on 25 August, vested legislative authority in the People's Assembly of 177 members serving five-year terms. This assembly could be dissolved by a two-thirds vote of its members or by the president. The People's Assembly was given the right to elect the president to a six-year, renewable term. (This was changed in 1984 to a direct popular election for a seven-year term.) The president was authorized to appoint members of the cabinet and to act as its chairman. He was declared commander in chief of the armed forces, with the power to declare war and to appoint the president of the Supreme Court. An article of the document allowed him to invoke emergency rule. On 24 October 1980, Siad Barre issued a decree suspending those constitutional provisions that were incompatible with the state of emergency triggered by the conflict with Ethiopia.

Large-scale fighting among clan factions from 1989 to January 1991 brought about the collapse of the Barre regime and his flight from Mogadishu. An interim administration (based on the 1969 constitution) was created by the United Somali Congress, but it collapsed in November 1991 and its two warring factions plunged Somalia into total civil war. The northern province declared its independence on 18 May 1991 as the sovereign state of "Somaliland," the name it bore under British colonial rule. That independence, so far, has brought relatively orderly rule. On 5 May 1993, Mohammed Ibrahim Egal was elected president by members of the central committee.

Barre's overthrow in June 1991 marked the end of viable central government. Some 15 armed factions have been fighting continuously, except for the relatively peaceful early months of UN-US administration from December 1992 until around June 1993. UNOSOM II was technically in control until March 1995, when the UN withdrew the last of its troops from the country. With the UN's departure, the country split into zones controlled by the various factions. Gen. Aideed's death on 1 August 1996 renewed prospects for political stability as rival warlords Osman Ali Atto and Ali Mahdi Muhammed declared a cease-fire. It was also hoped that the moderate Osman Atto, Aideed's clansman and a former advisor, would assume control of Aideed's forces. But Aideed's immediate successor, his son Hussein Muhammad Aideed, renewed the fight against his father's rivals.

As of 2005, Somalia was nominally ruled by a transitional national government (TNG)—established October 2000—with a president, prime minister, and 91-member cabinet. The president was Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, the prime minister was Ali Mohamed Ghedi. Dahir Riyale Kahin was president of the Somaliland Republic. In September 2004, an interim 275-member Federal Transitional Parliament (FTP) was formed of representatives of Somalia's four major clans, each with 61 seats, while a fifth grouping of minority clans held 31 seats. Somaliland, Puntland, and traditional clan and faction strongholds are beyond the token control of the TNG. New elections were scheduled to take place in 2009 depending on political conditions.

Although not yet recognized as an independent nation, Somaliland maintains an army, a police force, a currency, a judicial system, and levies taxes. It has not been free of the factional fighting that pervades the south, but it enjoys far more stability and less lawlessness. It successfully held parliamentary elections in September 2005, although the opening of the 82-member body was marred by protests outside the building and a brawl inside. Nonetheless, because of concern with extremists and instability in the Horn of Africa, the United States, United Kingdom, and the EU were reported to be leaning toward recognition of Somaliland as an independent state.

POLITICAL PARTIES

Political parties in Somalia may be thought of more accurately as collections of clans and sub-clans vying with each other for political power. Prior to October 1969, Somalia had a nominal multiparty system of government where opposition in parliament came from within the majority party as well as from opposition parties. The Somali Youth League (SYL), the largest party, was formed in 1943 as the Somali Youth Club. Its program included the unification of all Somalis (including those in Kenya, Ethiopia, and French Somaliland); social, political, and economic development; and nonalignment in international affairs. It represented almost all government personnel, entrepreneurs, and skilled and quasi-skilled workers of the southern area, formerly Italian Somaliland. In the first national elections after independence, held on 30 March 1964, the SYL won an absolute majority of 69 of the 123 parliamentary seats. The remaining seats were divided among 11 parties. In general elections held in March 1969, the ruling SYL, led by Mohammed Ibrahim Egal, was returned to power. A total of 64 political parties contested the elections. In October 1969, the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) prohibited all political parties and announced that elections would be held in due course. In 1976, the SRC was abolished and its functions transferred to the leadership of the newly formed Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP), which was led by the former SRC members. Siad Barre was general secretary of the SRSP, which remained the sole legal party until his overthrow in January 1991. Subsequently, the Somali National Movement (SNM) seized control of the north and established the independent state of "Somaliland." Since then, armed factions largely identified with clans and sub-clans divided up the territory as they fought and negotiated to expand their influence.

Many of the factions bear the titles of political parties; e.g., the Somali Democratic Movement, the Somali National Union, the Somali Patriotic Movement, and the United Somali Congress (USC). In fact, their bases are not national. The USC controlled Mogadishu and much of central Somalia until late in 1991 when it split into two major factions. Aideed's Somali National Alliance (SNA) identified with the Habar Gadir subclan of the Hawiye clan and Ali Mahdi's Somali Salvation Alliance (Abgal subclan of the Hawiyes). Currently the latter exists as the "Group of Twelve" coalition and these are the two dominant claimants to national power.

Aideed was killed on 1 August 1996 and was succeeded by his son, Hussein Muhammad Aideed. Some observers believe he could be displaced by Osman Ali Atto, an elder clansman and former Aideed advisor who was a rival of the general's at the time of the latter's death. Osman Atto is considered more moderate than Aideed, and more receptive to a political solution for Somalia.

The main political factions comprising the FTP are the National Salvation Council (NSC); the Somali Restoration and Reconciliation Council (SRRC); and various civil society and traditional leaders. The 91-member cabinet is split between proponents of locating the government at Jowhar and those who want to move it back to Mogadishu. Somaliland's main parties are the Democratic United National Party (UDUB), led by the president; Kulmiye ("unifier"); and the Justice Party (UCID).

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Somalia is divided into 18 regions (gobolka ): Awdal, Bakool, Banaadir, Bari, Bay, Galguduud, Gedo, Hiiraan, Jubbada Dhexe, Jubbada Hoose, Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag, Shabeellaha Dhexe, Shabeellaha Hoose, Sool, Togdheer, and Woqooyi Galbeed.

Until 1973, the country was divided into eight regions, each headed by an official chosen by the central government. The regions were subdivided into 48 districts, headed by district commissioners also appointed by the government. There were 83 municipalities and sub-municipalities. The powers of the municipal councils included local taxation, town planning, registry and census, public services, and approval of the local budget. The major educational, economic, and social services were financed and maintained by the central government, which also exerted supervisory control over the municipal councils through its power to remove mayors and to dissolve the councils.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM

Owing to the collapse of national government, no national judicial system exists. However, much of the country has reverted to Shariah with the possibility for appeals; secular courts exist in some localities. The UN operation in Somalia oversaw administration of the Somalia penal code in those areas under UN supervision. Islamic law and traditional mediation continue to be applied to settle disputes over property and criminal offenses. The fear of renewed anarchy interferes with impartial administration of justice, and prosecution of war crimes is difficult.

In 1993, plans were released for a three-tier judicial system with courts of appeals, regional courts, and district courts. In the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, adoption of a new constitution is pending and the pre-1991 penal code is in effect. In North Mogadishu and part of South Mogadishu, the middle Shabelle and the Gedo and Hi'ran regions, court decisions are only based on Shariah law.

Historically, under the 1961 constitution the Supreme Court was the highest juridical organ of the republic, having ultimate jurisdiction over all civil, penal, and administrative matters, and over all rights established by the constitution and by the laws of the state. Other judicial organs were qadi courts (Muslim courts), district courts, provincial courts, and courts of assize. Judicial organs of second instance were a tribunal of qadis, a court of appeals, and an appeals court of assize. Somali citizens participated as jurors in the courts of assize and the appeals court of assize. The Ministry of Justice administered the prison system and the offices and employees of the judicial organs. It prepared projects and regulations dealing with judicial matters and it supervised notaries, the bar, and the Office of State Attorney.

When the SRC assumed all judicial as well as executive and legislative powers in October 1969, it suspended the Supreme Court. However, the court was reopened in December 1969, and the rest of the court system was left much as before. A new National Security Court was empowered to rule on cases involving persons accused of attempting to undermine the independence, unity, and security of the state. The 1979 constitution established the Constitutional Court (composed of the Supreme Court and delegates to the People's Assembly) to decide on the constitutionality of laws. It also empowered the Higher Judicial Council, chaired by the president and composed of high-ranking SRC members, to be responsible for the selection, promotion, and discipline of members of the judiciary.

ARMED FORCES

The regular armed forces disintegrated in the revolution of 1991, leaving the nation awash with Russian, Chinese, and European weapons. Clan gangs armed with these weapons terrorized relief workers during their humanitarian efforts sponsored by international and private organizations, and battled a UN and US expeditionary force to a standstill. Between December 1992 and March 1994 over 100,000 US military personnel served in Somalia. As of late 2005, the national armed forces had not been reconstituted, and the country was torn between the Republic of Somaliland declared by the Somali National Movement in the north and insurgent groups in the south. There was no data on military expenditures for 2005 or on the exact number of armed Somalis.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Somalia, which joined the United Nations on 30 September 1960, participates in ECA and several nonregional specialized agencies, such as the FAO, the World Bank, ILO, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, and the WHO. It is also a member of the ACP Group, the African Development Bank, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Council of Arab Economic Unity, the Islamic Development Bank, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the Community of Sahel and Saharan States (CENSAD), G-77, the Arab League, and African Union.

Since 1960, the Somali government has sponsored a policy known as Pan-Somalism that strives for the unification of all Somali populations within the region into a Greater Somalia. This issue has a major impact on relations with Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti and tensions between Somalia and these countries has escalated to violence in the past. Somalia is part of the Nonaligned Movement. In environmental cooperation, Somalia is part of CITES, the Montréal Protocol, and the UN Conventions on the Law of the Sea and Climate Change.

ECONOMY

Somalia's economy, one of the poorest in the world, is an agricultural one based primarily on livestock and, to a lesser extent, on farming. Livestock accounts for about 40% of GDP and a large percentage of export earnings, mainly from Saudi Arabia; bananas are the main cash crop and account for nearly 50% of export earnings. Other crops produced for domestic consumption are cotton, maize, and sorghum. There are plans to develop the fishing industry. Northern Somalia is the world's largest source of incense and myrrh. There has been little exploitation of mineral resources, which include petroleum, uranium, and natural gas. Since 1990, the economy has been a shambles, the consequence of drought and of protracted civil strife which has left the country without central authority. By early 1992, virtually all trade, industrial and agricultural activities had stopped, large numbers of people were forced from their homes, and more than six million people were at risk of starvation. In 1993, donors pledged $130 million toward Somalia's reconstruction. The aid, together with good rains and increased stability, helped ease the food situation and few communities were at risk of widespread famine in 1997; however, the lack of rains in spring 2001 caused major food shortages in the south of the country. Continued fighting and the lack of a central authority in 2003 prevented significant improvements in economic conditions. The UN through its various relief agencies is the country's largest employer. Although Somalia was largely still in a state of anarchy in 2003, despite ongoing peace talks, the telecommunications sector was functioning, with most major cities having wireless telephone services. By 2005 Somalia was still a chaotic country with little political stability in sight. According to the US Central Intelligence Agency, Somalia's economic fortunes are driven by its deep political divisions with economic life continuing in part because much activity is local and relatively easily protected.

INCOME

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2005 Somalia's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $4.8 billion. The CIA defines GDP as the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year and computed on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than value as measured on the basis of the rate of exchange based on current dollars. The per capita GDP was estimated at $600. The annual growth rate of GDP was estimated at 2.4%. It was estimated that agriculture accounted for 65% of GDP, industry 10%, and services 25%.

It was estimated that for the period 1980 to 1990 household consumption grew at an average annual rate of 1.3%.

LABOR

There are approximately 3.7 million workers in Somalia, with nomadic shepherds and subsistence farmers accounting for 71% of the working population. Industry and services employed the remaining 29.9%. Since the overwhelming majority of the population was engaged in stock herding or agriculture, the number of unemployed was not large, but there was considerable unemployment in the urban centers. There was no further data available on unemployment in Somalia.

Labor codes were enacted in the early 1960s for minimum wages, hours of work, employment of women and children, vacations, and collective bargaining. After the 1969 revolution, the SRC dissolved the existing unions and took action to organize the General Federation of Somali Trade Unions along lines more in keeping with its plans for a Socialist state, but it was believed to have ceased functioning with the collapse of the government in 1992. As of 2001, the recent constitution of Somaliland provided the right to unionize, but no unions had been formed yet. There are no systems in place to implement acceptable work conditions, child labor regulations, workweek standards or wage minimums.

AGRICULTURE

Only 1.7% of Somalia's total land area is cultivated, and 69% is permanent pasture. There are two main types of agriculture, one indigenous and the other introduced by European settlers. The Somalis have traditionally engaged in rain-fed dry-land farming or in dry-land farming complemented by irrigation from the waters of the Shabeelle and Jubba rivers or from collected rainwater. The rainy season lasts from April to June and these rains typically bring about 75% of Somalia's annual cereal production. Corn, sorghum, beans, rice, vegetables, cotton, and sesame are grown by both methods. Bananas and sugarcane have been the main commercial crops, grown on irrigated land along the two rivers. Sugarcane is cultivated at Giohar and Jilib. Somalia is the world's leading producer of frankincense.

Between 1975 and 1991, all land was nationalized. Existing customary rights were generally honored, but the state took over large areas of irrigable land in the river valleys. Plantations had to register to obtain a concession grant, with the value of the land itself excluded from the selling price. In 1993, privatization and assistance from Italy (the main market for banana exports) began to help revitalize the agricultural sector. In 2001, agricultural products accounted for 47% of exports and 17% of imports; there was an agricultural trade surplus of $10.2 million. In 2001 a severe drought affected southern Somalia and the UN appealed for food aid for half a million people.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

The majority of Somalis raise livestock; in some areas, particularly in the north, this is the only means of subsistence. During the civil war, herds were looted and killed. The national cattle herd was estimated at 5.3 million head at the end of 2001. At that time, Somalia also had 13.1 million sheep, 12.7 million goats, and 6.2 million camels. Live animals along with hides and skins are significant exports.

Having no official central government, the traditional Somali system of customary law and politics has been instrumental in maintaining economic stability. Somalia's animal herding sector is stronger than that of either of its neighbors, Kenya or Ethiopia. During the 1990s, Somalia accounted for more than 60% of all livestock exports in East Africa. In the northern part of Somalia (Somaliland and Puntland), sheep and goat exports from the major ports of Berbera and Bossaso now exceed pre-1991 levels. By Somali custom, the cross-border livestock trade is facilitated by brokers who certify that traded livestock are not stolen, and thus act as insurance agents for cross-border trading. Fees are lower on the Somali side of the cross-border trade than on the Kenyan side, indicating that rustling may be a more severe problem in Kenya than in Somalia. According to data from the Kenyan government, Somalia's export of cattle to Kenya more than doubled between 1991 and 2000. In 2000, severe drought struck Somalia, and Kenya closed its border to Somali livestock to prevent importing any animals infected with Rift Valley Fever.

FISHING

Approximately 1% of the population is engaged full-time in fishing. Fish-processing plants produced fish flour, inedible oil, and semirefined edible oil. In 1985, fish—tuna, sardines, mackerel, and lobster—and fish products accounted for 10.7% of exports. The catch in 2003 was 18,000 tons. Fisheries exports have declined from about $14.8 million in 1990 to $3.4 million in 2003. In 1993, the yearly potential catch was estimated at 200,000 tons, which could bring in an estimated $26 million in revenue each year. One of the government's aims has been to establish fishing cooperatives; in 1975, thousands of nomads from the drought-affected area were resettled in fishing villages.

FORESTRY

Forests cover 12% of Somalia's land area, but only 4% of the land has dense tree stands. Somalia is one of the few areas in the world where frankincense is produced; incense trees of the genus Boswellia are found in the northeast. Gum arabic in small quantities is also produced. In the scant forests along the rivers of the Jubba region, Euphorbia ruspoli is milled and used for the production of banana crates. Roundwood production was estimated at 10,576,000 cu m (373.3 million cu ft), with almost 99% of it burned as fuel.

MINING

The Somali minerals sector, which was not a significant economic force before the 1991 overthrow of the government, failed to expand in the ensuing years of political and economic instability. In 2003, small quantities of gypsum, marine salt, and sepiolite (meerschaum) were exploited, and the country also presumably produced clays, sand and gravel, crushed and dimension stone, and limestone (for lime manufacture and/or agriculture). Officially reported mineral and trade data have been unavailable owing to lack of a central government from 1991 to 2000, and the secession of Somaliland and Puntland. In 2003, Somalia's output of gypsum, marine salt and sepiolite were estimated at 1,500 metric tons, 1,000 metric tons and 6 metric tons, respectively. The civil war forced the closure of Somalia's cement plant and oil refinery (a leading industry), and halted exploration for natural gas and other resources. There were unexploited deposits of anhydrite, bauxite, columbite, feldspar, natural gas, iron ore, kaolin, quartz, silica sand, tantalum, thorium, tin, and uranium, and recent discoveries of amethyst, aquamarine, emerald, garnet, opal, ruby, and sapphire. Mining of the gemstones, in Somaliland, has been limited by a lack of modern equipment, civil strife, and damage to the infrastructure; a EU-funded nongovernmental organization was working with Somaliland's government to exploit gemstone resources. Tin was mined by the British before World War II, and charcoal was the fifth-leading export commodity. The outlook showed little change for the short run.

ENERGY AND POWER

Somalia has no reserves of oil, or coal, nor any refining capacity, but does have modest reserves of natural gas.

Somalia relies on imported petroleum products for the production of its electric energy. Installed capacity in 2002 was 80,000 kW, all of it based on conventional thermal fuels. Total production in that year was 240 million kWh, with domestic demand at 223 billion kWh.

In 2002, Somalia's imports and consumption of refined oil products each averaged 4,800 barrels per day. Although Somalia had proven reserves of natural gas in 2002 of 2.833 billion cu m, there was no production, imports or demand for natural gas in that year. An oil refinery, built with Iraqi assistance, was opened at Gesira, near Mogadishu, in 1978 but has not operated since 1991. There was no demand or imports of coal in 2002. The only immediately exploitable domestic sources of energy are firewood and charcoal.

INDUSTRY

Before the start of civil war in the early 1990s, the manufacturing sector was beginning to develop. However, all industries suffered major losses during the civil war, accounting in 2000 for only 10% of GDP. Industries mainly serve the domestic market and, to a lesser extent, provide some of the needs of Somalia's agricultural exports, such as the manufacture of crates for packing bananas. Most industries have been looted, however, and many sold for scrap metal.

The most important industries were petroleum refining (as of 2000 shut down), the state-owned sugar plants at Jowhar and Gelib, an oilseed-crushing mill, and a soap factory. Other industries manufactured corrugated iron, paint, cigarettes and matches, aluminum utensils, cardboard boxes and polyethylene bags, and textiles. A cement plant at Berbera was completed in 1985.

The fish- and meat-canning export industries operate below capacity. Textiles are produced at the SOMALTEX plant, which supplies virtually the entire domestic market. Most major enterprises were government-owned, but private plants produce food, beverages, chemicals, clothing, and footwear. There are also plants for milk processing, vegetable and fruit canning, and wheat flour and pasta manufacturing, as well as several grain mills. The country's first pharmaceuticals factory, near Mogadishu, opened in 1986. Local craft industries produce sandals and other leather products, cotton cloth, pottery, baskets, and clay or meerschaum vessels.

The oil refinery at Mogadishu, with a production capacity of 10,000 barrels per day, has been out of operation since 1991. There is one natural gas field, but exploration and exploitation of oil and natural gas has been suspended since political conflict began.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

In 1993, the Somali National University in Mogadishu had faculties of medicine, agriculture, veterinary medicine, engineering, geology, and industrial chemistry. Also located in Mogadishu were the Institute for the Preparation of Serums and Vaccines, the Laboratory of Hygiene and Prophylaxy, and the Society of Medicine and Tropical Hygiene. In Mogadishu there is the school of public health and a veterinary college; the Geological Survey Department of the Ministry of Water Development and Mineral Resources and the Survey and Mapping Department of the Ministry of Public Works. A technical college is located in Burao.

DOMESTIC TRADE

Despite the lack of a central government, domestic commerce in Somalia is still active, although on a small scale. Some merchants, using satellite telephones or radios coordinate distribution networks that transport food and other goods between various rival territories. Small shops barter or sell a limited number of such imported and domestic items as tea and coffee, kerosene, sugar, cotton goods, spices, cereals, skins, hides, and ghee. Outside the urban centers, the barter system is often employed. In the urban centers, small traders deal essentially in a cash economy.

Mogadishu is a primary business and commercial center and hosts a large number of shops and markets offering a variety of goods. In the south, at the mouth of the Juba River, Kismayu serves as an important port, particularly for banana exports. Hargeisa serves as a watering and trading center for many of the nation's nomadic herders.

Usual business hours are from 8 am to 12:30 pm and from 4:30 pm to 7 pm, Saturday to Thursday.

FOREIGN TRADE

Exports consist largely of livestock (camels, sheep, and goats), bananas, hides, and fish. Principal imports are manufactures, petroleum products, food, and petroleum. Imports also include guns, medicine, and khat (a stimulant leaf chewed by Somalis). Foreign trade is handled by local traders who coordinate transactions despite factional fighting and the lack of a central government. Many traders in the north have relocated from Berbera to Bosaso in order to avoid foreign exchange regulations imposed by the self-proclaimed Somaliland government in the northwest. Livestock is normally driven from northeast Ethiopia to ports, and then shipped to Saudi Arabia. In 1998, Saudi Arabia imposed a 16-month ban on the import of livestock because of low health standards. Government revenues fell from $45 million to $25 million in that year. Although the ban was lifted in 1999, it was recently re-imposed in 2005 because of Rift Valley Fever concerns, severely hampering this sector. Remittances from Somalis working abroad constitute one of the Somalia's main sources of foreign exchange, reaching an estimated $500 million in 1999.

BALANCE OF PAYMENTS

Since independence, Somalia has consistently had an unfavorable balance of payments on current accounts, caused by deficits of trade and invisible transactions. In the 1980s, Somalia depended on direct transfers and capital assistance from other governments, and became even more dependent after civil war and ensuing anarchy broke out in 1991. Economic aid reached $192 million in 1995. Total external debt in 2003 was estimated at $2.84 billion.

BANKING AND SECURITIES

The Central Bank of Somalia, a government institution with branches in every region, controls the issue of currency and performs the central banking functions of the state. All banks were nationalized in 1970. The Central Bank was set up in 1960. The Commercial and Savings Bank, formed in 1975 from a merger of the National Commercial Bank and the Somali Savings and Credit Bank, was closed in June 1990. The Somali Development Bank was created in 1983, and the Commercial Bank of Somalia was opened in July 1990. The formal banking system no longer functions.

As of 1996, the Somali shilling was still widely in use despite the lack of a government to back the currency, which was holding its value because there were no new notes. In 1999, the mass distribution of counterfeit Somali shillings reduced the value of the shilling against the US dollar from 7.5 to 10,000. The exchange rate was at 2,600 in 2000. Four competing versions of the national currency were reported to be in circulation.

A new bank, the Barakat Bank of Somalia, was established in Mogadishu at the end of October 1996. Initially capitalized at $2 million, the bank intended to use the dollar as its working currency; and to specialize in small loans to Somali traders, foreign currency exchange, and currency transactions abroad. The bank aimed to establish a further 90 branches across the country.

There are no securities exchanges in Somalia.

INSURANCE

A small number of European agencies which had acted as agents for foreign insurance companies were replaced by a state-owned insurance company, the National Insurance Co. of Somalia, in 1972.

PUBLIC FINANCE

The Somali budget has been in deficit since the early 1970s. Disintegration of the national economy since 1991 has led to relief and military intervention by the UN. No central government authority existed as of 2006, so there was no functioning system of civil administration to collect and disburse public finances.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated that Somalia's total external debt was $3 billion.

TAXATION

Direct taxes are imposed on income and profits, when officials can collect them. In 1986, tax rates on wages and salaries ranged from 0–18.9%. Income from trade and the professions was taxed at rates of up to 35%. Indirect taxes are imposed on imports, exports, mortgages, vehicle registration, sugar, alcohol, and a number of other goods and services. In 2003, Somalia's sales tax rate was 10%.

CUSTOMS AND DUTIES

Customs and duties are levied primarily to provide income for the state and to offer protection to local industries. Most duties are ad valorem and range from zero to 100%. Unspecified goods are dutiable at 25% ad valorem. A general sales tax of 10% for imported goods is also levied.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT

Civil strife and the lack of a central government have discouraged foreign investment. Although the UN and associated foreign governments spent $4 billion dollars to restore order to the country, no productive assets remained after their departure in 1995. The only economic spin-off appears to have been contracts issued to local companies to dispose of military debris and trash. Foreign investment in the late 1990s centered around the communications structure in mobile phone technology and energy creation, but continuation of political conflicts well into 2002 drove away investment. For the period 1997 to 2001, annual foreign direct investment (FDI) ranged from $1.1 million in 1997 to a negative divestment of -$800,000 in 1999. Across the five years, net FDI flows were barely positive, at $400,000. However the ongoing chaos and periodic violence in Somalia continue to be a major obstacle to FDI inflows. For example, in 2002, FDI inflows turned negative, offsetting the small momentum registered from the gains of 2000.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Successive Somali governments have sought to stimulate production in all sectors of agriculture, commerce, and industry. However, drought, inflation, civil strife, and the rise of oil prices have severely hampered these programs. Government priorities prior to the civil war included the expansion of the fishing fleet, food self-sufficiency based on the development of the Baardheere dam project, livestock breeding, and meat export programs, and transport and telecommunication improvements.

Clan warfare has left Somalia without a central government since 1991. Economic development at the beginning of the new millennium was expected to be devoted in large part to the rebuilding of the Somali civil administration. Despite a continuing lack of infrastructure in the early 2000s, domestic trade was thriving and the clan system had sufficiently organized the economic system to support the population. The ongoing civil disturbances and clan rivalries have interfered with any broad-based economic development and international aid arrangements. In 2004 and 2005 Somalia's overdue financial obligations to the IMF continued to grow. Experts agree that the return of peace and security to the whole country is essential for viable economic growth. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the recent influx of armaments in 2005 indicated that increased stability is unlikely, which will further delay any significant resumption of large-scale assistance from the international community.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Since 1989, internal fighting and widespread drought conditions have severely disrupted government and its ability to provide social services. Private humanitarian agencies tried to fill the need but fighting, extortion, and the activities of armed factions and looters chased many of them away. The UN has also tried to help, but it too finds operations difficult. Somalia in effect has no national government, and current data for social services is unavailable.

Although the constitution prohibits discrimination based on sex or ethnicity, societal discrimination and violence against women and children are prevalent. Women play a subordinate role in Somalia's culture and politics. Polygyny is practiced and female genital mutilation is nearly universal. The punishment for murdering a women is half as severe as that for killing a man. Rape is a common occurrence.

Serious human rights violations included suppression of civil and political rights, disappearances, arbitrary detention, and harsh prison conditions. As of 2004, many civilians were still being killed in factional fighting.

HEALTH

In 1972, all health facilities and the services of all private medical personnel were placed under state control. Government policy was eventually to provide free medical treatment for all. One of the self-help projects instituted by the SRC was the construction of local clinics. As of 2004, it was estimated that there were fewer than 5 physicians per 100,000 people, and only 19 nurses, and fewer than one dentist or pharmacist per 100,000 population.

Somalia has a high incidence of tuberculosis, schistosomiasis, and pulmonary disturbances. Malaria and intestinal parasites are endemic. Serious dietary deficiencies are found, particularly in the north. Only 31% of the population had access to pure drinking water, which is rarely available outside the larger cities. Water outside these centers needs to be filtered, boiled, or chemically treated. Somalis, however, take few of these precautions. A very low 17% of the population had adequate sanitation, and only 27% had access to health care services.

As of 2002, the crude birth rate and overall mortality rate were estimated at, respectively, 46.8 and 18 per 1,000 people. Only 1% of married women (ages 15 to 49) have used contraception. Average life expectancy in 2005 was only 48.09 years and the infant mortality rate was 116.70 per 1,000 live births. The maternal mortality rate was a very high 1,100 per 100,000 live births in 1991.

Immunization rates for children up to one year old were: tuberculosis, 31%; diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, 18%; polio, 18%; and measles, 30%. The rates for DPT and measles were, respectively, 18% and 26%. The HIV/AIDS prevalence was 1.00 per 100 adults in 2003. As of 2004, there were approximately 43,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country.

HOUSING

According to the latest available information for 1980–88, the total number of housing units was 710,000 with 6.8 people per dwelling. However, year's of civil war and the 2004 tsunami took a toll on the nation's housing stock. The war caused internal migration and displacement to the extent that some areas are highly overpopulated while other neighborhoods have been abandoned. In 2005, it was estimated that about 85% of the total population was living in slums or partially destroyed housing. About 40 villages were damaged or destroyed by the tsunami of December 2004, which was generated by a massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean.

Development schemes aided by UN and foreign assistance programs have helped alleviate some housing shortages. Town planning and housing are under the jurisdiction of municipalities, and assistance is given by the central government only when it has approved a project submitted by the municipality. The typical Somali house is either a cylindrical hut with a conical thatched roof or a rectangular hut with an angular roof of thatch or metal.

EDUCATION

Private schools were closed or nationalized in 1972 and all education was put under the jurisdiction of the central government. In 1975 primary education was made compulsory. A minimum of eight years of schooling at the primary level is mandatory; however, many prospective students, particularly among the nomadic population, cannot be accommodated. Secondary education lasts for four years.

Primary school enrollment in 1995 was estimated at less than 10% of age-eligible students. The same year, secondary school enrollment was at less than 6% of age-eligible students.

Mogadishu University is the primary source for higher education. All institutions at the higher level had 817 teachers and 15, 672 students in 1986. The adult literacy rate for 2001 was estimated at about 37.8%, with 49.7% for men and 25.8% for women.

LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS

The National Museum of Somalia in Mogadishu (3,000 volumes) maintains a highly specialized library dealing primarily with African and Somali culture, government, and history. The National Library, under the supervision of the of the Ministry of Higher Education and Culture, has 9,000 volumes, and the Somali Institute of Public Administration also has a book collection; both are in Mogadishu. The Amoud University Library has about 65,000 volumes. The National Museum in Mogadishu is a restored residence of the viceroy of the sultan of Zanzibar. Besides its comprehensive collection of Somali ethnographic material, the museum has local art objects, fossils, and old coins.

MEDIA

In 2003, there were an estimated ten mainline telephones for every 1,000 people. The same year, there were approximately three mobile phones in use for every 1,000 people.

The transitional government operates Radio Mogadishu. There are several privately owned radio and television stations, many of which are local or regional in range. Most of the country can receive transmissions from British Broadcasting. In 2001, there were three main television stations, two in Mogadishu and one if Hargeisa. In 2003, there were 60 radios and 14 television sets for every 1,000 people. The same year, about nine of every 1,000 people had access to the Internet. There were four Internet hosts in 2004.

In 2004, there were two daily newspapers, one government and one independent. There was also an English language weekly newspaper. And several other small weekly papers. Freedom of speech and the press are severely limited, according to reports. Factional infighting creates an atmosphere of mistrust, and media representatives such as comedians, actors, and journalists have been arrested, detained, or otherwise harassed. Most news comes from foreign broadcasts.

ORGANIZATIONS

Private organizations that existed in the 1960s have largely been replaced by government-sponsored groups. Among party-controlled groups are the Union of Somali Cooperatives Movement, the Somali Women's Democratic Organization, and the Somali Revolutionary Youth Organization.

There are active sports associations promoting amateur competitions among athletes of all ages in pastimes such as squash, tennis, badminton, dance sport, and weightlifting; some of these, such as the Somalia Football Federation, are affiliated with international organizations as well.

Volunteer service organizations, such as the Lions Clubs International, are also present. There is a national chapter of the Red Crescent Society.

TOURISM, TRAVEL, AND RECREATION

Somalia's modest tourist industry has declined since the civil war began in 1991. Every person entering Somalia is required to have a valid passport and a proper visa. An official certificate showing immunization against yellow fever is necessary if traveling from an infected area.

Before the war, Somalia offered lovely beaches, excellent diving, and numerous species of East African wildlife.

FAMOUS SOMALIS

The most important historical figure in Somali history is Muhammad 'Abdallah bin Hasan (known popularly in English literature as the "Mad Mullah"). He was born about 1860 and during his youth devoted himself to religious studies. In August 1899, with his followers of the Salihiyyah confraternity, he declared a holy war against the British, Italians, and Ethiopians. His resistance to the British lasted until his death in November 1920. Muhammad, also known as one of Somalia's greatest poets, was the first to call for Somali unity. Other important historical figures include Sharif Abu Bakr bin 'Abdallah al-'Aydarus (d.1503), who founded the Qadiriyyah confraternity in the Somali region; Sheikh 'Ali Maye Durogba of Marka (d.1917), who founded the Ahmadiyyah sect in Somalia; and Sheikh Muhammad Guled (d.1918), who started the Salihiyyah sect in Somalia.

'Abdullahi 'Issa Mohamed (b.1921) was prime minister during the Italian trusteeship administration (1956–60) and was Somalia's first foreign minister. Aden 'Abdullah Osman Daar (b.1908) is regarded as the Somali most responsible for bringing about the transition of the Somali territory from dependence to independence; he was the nation's first president. Abdirashid 'Ali Shermarke (1919–69) was Somalia's first prime minister after independence and the nation's second president. He was assassinated on 15 October 1969 by a member of his bodyguard. Maj. Gen. Jalle Mohamed Siad Barre (1921–95) was the leader of the bloodless coup that took over the government six days later and established the SRC. He subsequently became president of the Somali Democratic Republic. Mohamed 'Ali Samatar (b.1931), first vice-president and minister of defense, became prime minister in 1986. Mohammed Farah Aidid (1934–96) was the clan leader that gained control over much of Somalia during the civil war. His son, Hussein Aidid (b.1962), a former US marine, took over after his death. Abdiqasim Salad Hassan (b.1941) was recognized as president in exile in Djibouti in 2000, serving until 2004. In October of that year, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed (b.1934) was named the transitional president of Somalia. Osman Hasan Ali (b.1950) became famous as the wealthy financier of clan militias during the civil war.

DEPENDENCIES

Somalia has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abdullahi, Mohamed Diriye. Culture and Customs of Somalia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2001.

Besteman, Catherine and Lee V. Cassanelli, eds. The Struggle for Land in Southern Somalia: The War Behind the War. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1996.

Clarke, Walter S. and Jeffrey Ira Herbst, eds. Learning from Somalia: The Lessons of Armed Humanitarian Intervention. Boulder, Colo.: Westview, 1997.

Mohamoud, Abdullah A. State Collapse and Post-Conflict Development in Africa: The Case of Somalia (1960–2001). West Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue University Press, 2006.

Mubarak, Jamil Abdalla. From Bad Policy to Chaos in Somalia: How an Economy Fell Apart. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1996.

Mukhtar, Mohamed Haji. Historical Dictionary of Somalia. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow, 2003.

Nnoromele, Salome. Somalia. San Diego, Calif.: Lucent, 2000.

Woodward, Peter. The Horn of Africa: Politics and International Relations. New York: I.B. Tauris, 2003.

Zeilig, Leo and David Seddon. A Political and Economic Dictionary of Africa. Philadelphia: Routledge/Taylor and Francis, 2005.

Somalia

Culture Name

Somali

Alternative Names

Somali Democratic Republic, Soomaaliya (in Somali)

Orientation

Identification. Somalia was known to the ancient Egyptians as the Land of Punt. They valued its trees which produced the aromatic gum resins frankincense and myrrh. Punt is also mentioned in the Bible, and ancient Romans called it Cape Aromatica. Somalia is named for the legendary father of the Somali people, Samaal (or Samale).

The Somali people share a common language, Somali, and most are Muslims of the Sunni sect. Somalis also live in northern Kenya; in the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia; and in Djibouti, to the northwest of Somalia. In spite of national boundaries, all Somalis consider themselves one people. This unity makes them one of Africa's largest ethnic groups.

Location and Geography. Somalia is on the outer edge of the Somali Peninsula, also called the Horn of Africa, on the East African coast. It is bordered on the north by the Gulf of Aden, on the east by the Indian Ocean, on the southwest by Kenya, and on the west and northwest by Ethiopia and Djibouti.

At approximately 246,200 square miles (637,658 square kilometers), Somalia is about the size of Texas. Its coastline extends about 1,800 miles (2,896 kilometers). Somalia is hot for much of the year, with two wet and two dry seasons. Vegetation is generally sparse, except in the area between the Jubba and the Shabeelle Rivers in south-central Somalia.

A semiarid plain called the Guban runs parallel to the northern coast of Somalia. The Karkaar Mountains extend from Somalia's northwestern border to the eastern tip of the Horn of Africa, with the highest point, Shimber Berris, at 7,900 feet (2,408 meters). South of the mountain ranges, a central plateau known as the Haud extends to the Shabeelle River and westward into the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia. During the rainy seasons, from April to June and from October to November, this area provides plenty of water and grazing lands for livestock.

Somalia's two rivers, the Jubba and the Shabeelle, flow from the Ethiopian highlands into southeastern Somalia. The Shabeelle (Leopard) River does not enter the Indian Ocean but instead turns parallel to the coast and runs southward for 170 miles (274 kilometers) before drying up in marshes and sand flats. The Jubba flows year-round into the Indian Ocean.

The port city of Mogadishu, in southeastern Somalia on the Indian Ocean, is the largest city and the traditional capital of Somalia. Mogadishu was largely destroyed in the fighting between clans during the civil war of the 1990s. In 2000 a Somali assembly voted to make Mogadishu the new president's base but to move other government functions to the city of Baidoa, northwest of Mogadishu, until the capital could be rebuilt.

Demography. No census was taken in Somalia until 1975, and those figures were not reported. The large number of nomads makes it difficult to get an accurate population count. Population estimates have been made based on the 1986–1987 census, which recorded a population of 7.1 million. In spite of the death toll due to famine and civil war in the 1990s, 2000 population estimates range from 9 million to 14.5 million. About three-quarters of the people live in rural areas and one-quarter in the cities. Ethnic Somalis make up about 95 percent of the population. The remainder are Indians, Pakistanis, other Asians, Arabs, Europeans, and groups of mixed ancestry.

Linguistic Affiliation. All Somalis speak Somali, the official language. In the Afro-Asiatic family of languages, Somali is an Eastern Cushitic language. Somali did not become a written language until January 1973. Common Somali is the most widely spoken dialect, but Coastal Somali and Central Somali also are spoken. Somalis frequently use wordplay and humor in everyday communication.

Arabic, the language of the Qur'an, is spoken and read for religious purposes. A small percentage of Somalis also speak Italian, and a growing number speak English. Educated young adults from well-to-do urban families may speak five or more languages.

Symbolism. The most widely recognized symbol is the camel, because it provides transportation, milk, meat, income, and status to a majority of Somalis.

Other symbols of Somalia are the five-pointed white star on the Somali flag and the crescent, which represents the new moon and is a universal symbol of the Islamic faith. Each point of the star represents a land that is home to Somali people: the portion within the national boundaries, once divided into two territories, Italian and British; the Ogaden region of Ethiopia; the Northern Frontier District of Kenya; and Djibouti. Somalis hope that one day all these territories can become a unified Somali nation.

The leopard is considered the national symbol of Somalia. Two African leopards adorn the national emblem, a five-pointed white star on a light blue shield with a gold border.

History and Ethnic Relations

Emergence of the Nation. The origin of the Somali people is uncertain. Current theory suggests that the Somali originated in the southern Ethiopian highlands and migrated into northern Kenya during the first millennium b.c.e. They then gradually migrated northward to populate the Horn of Africa by c.e. 100.

The Somalis are tall and wiry in stature, with aquiline features, elongated heads, and light brown to black skin. Somali women are known for their beauty.

Arabs introduced the Islamic faith to Africa beginning in the seventh century. By the tenth century, Arab trading posts thrived in southern Somalia, along the Indian Ocean. These included Mogadishu, established as the first Arab settlement in East Africa. The city was at the height of its influence and wealth during the thirteenth century, when it controlled the gold trade on the East African coast.

Most Somalis converted to Islam by about 1100. They joined with the Arabs in fighting the Islamic holy wars against Ethiopian Christians in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. By the eighteenth century the Somalis had defeated the Oromo people, who had threatened both Muslims and Christians in Ethiopia and Somalia. The Somalis became the dominant people in the land.

Europeans became interested in Somalia during the nineteenth century, beginning with its exploration by British adventurer Sir Richard Burton in 1854. Interest grew when the Suez Canal opened in 1869, and in 1887 Britain declared the northern Somalia coast a protectorate, known as British Somaliland. The French claimed the far western coast (now Djibouti) at about the same time, naming it French Somaliland. Italy took control of southern Somalia, including Mogadishu, in 1889, naming it Italian Somaliland.

In 1899 Somali Islamic teacher Muhammad Abdullah Hasan (1856–1920), known to the British as "the Mad Mullah," gathered an army. They hoped to gain the Ogaden region of Ethiopia for Somalis and to drive out the non-Islamic Europeans. Hasan and his army, called Dervishes, fought the Ethiopians and later the British from 1900 to 1920. The British bombed the Dervish capital in 1920 and Hasan escaped, but he died later that year, ending the resistance movement.

At the beginning of World War II the Italians drove the British from northern Somalia. The British recaptured Somalia and drove out the Italians in 1941. In 1949 the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly awarded Italy administrative control over southern Somalia as a trust territory for a ten-year period that would then lead to Somalia's independence. British Somaliland was awarded its independence on 26 June 1960 and united with Italian Somaliland to establish the Somali Republic on 1 July 1960. After independence, parliamentary leader Aadan Abdullah Usmaan was appointed president by the legislature. He appointed Abdirashiid Ali Shermaarke the first prime minister of Somalia.

National Identity. Although united as one nation in 1960, northern and southern Somalia had for years functioned as two separate countries, with separate school systems, taxes, currencies, police, and political and legal administrations. As early as December 1961, northern Somali military leaders pushed for separation of the north and the south. At the same time, most Somalis wanted to unite the regions outside of Somalia that were populated with many Somalis—the Ogaden, the NFD in Kenya, and Djibouti. In the 1960s, a guerrilla warfare campaign by Somali shiftas (bandits) in Kenya and skirmishes over the Ogaden region resulted in a mutual defense agreement against the Somalis by Kenya and Ethiopia.

Former prime minister Shermaarke was elected president in 1967, and his prime minister, Muhammad Ibrahim Egal, focused on internal development and restoration of peace with Ethiopia and Kenya.

Shermaarke was assassinated by a bodyguard on 15 October 1969. Somali military took control of Mogadishu in a coup d'état on 21 October 1969.

The new government, called the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC), chose army commander Major General Muhammad Siad Barre as president and renamed Somalia the Somali Democratic Republic. Based on principles of Marxism as well as on the Qur'an and on Siad Barre's ideas about self-reliance for the Somali people, this new political ideology for Somalia was known as "scientific socialism."

Somalia was engaged in the Ogaden War with Ethiopia in 1977–1978. Defeated, Somalia suffered an economic decline, and there was growing national opposition to Siad Barre's leadership, nearly a one-man government by 1982. Siad Barre was severely injured in a car accident on 23 May 1986, and a power struggle for control of the government began between political leaders and clan leaders. Siad Barre recovered and was nominated for another seven-year term, but various clans whose members had been terrorized by Siad Barre's Red Berets (a military terrorist unit from his own clan, the Mareehaan) rose up against him.

In 1990, members of the Hawiye clan of south-central Somalia formed the United Somali Congress (USC), and in December they stormed Mogadishu and defeated the Red Berets. Siad Barre escaped to Nigeria. The USC's leader, Muhammad Ali Mahdi, was appointed president, but Hawiye subclan leader General Muhammad Farah Aidid, of the Habir Gedir subclan, also claimed power. The two disagreed on forming a central government for Somalia, and civil war began.

Somali civilians suffered the most in the unstable years that followed. It was estimated that some three hundred thousand Somalis died between 1991 and mid-1993. Although international relief organizations sent food and supplies, much was stolen by bandits and warring clan members before it could reach those who needed it most.

U.N. secretary-general Boutros Boutros-Ghali arranged a truce between Mahdi and Aidid in December 1992, but clan members continued to fight. The United States led Operation Restore Hope in 1992, and U.N. countries sent food and supplies, along with soldiers to ensure that they reached the people. In mid-1993 the U.N. Security Council resolved to turn the operation into a "nation-building" effort that would include disarming militias and restoring political and civil institutions. The operation deteriorated as Somalis and U.N. troops committed acts of violence against one another. U.S. troops were pulled out of Somalia in early 1994, and the last U.N. troops left in March 1995.

Aidid died in the fighting in Mogadishu in August 1996, but his son, Hussein Muhammad Aidid, took his place and continued his father's mission to put their subclan in control of Somalia.

After U.N. aid slowed and troops were withdrawn, the situation gradually improved in Somalia. Farmers returned home and produced a good harvest in 1995. Although clan fighting continued in 1997 and 1998 and no central government was established, local governments continued to function.

In August 2000, after twelve failed attempts to organize a central government, some two thousand Somalis representing the clans and subclans met in Djibouti to discuss forming a government for Somalia.

During the clan wars of the early 1990s, northern Somalia declared itself the independent Somaliland Republic, appointed former Somali prime minister Muhammad Ibrahim Egal as its president, wrote a constitution, developed an assembly, and governmental institutions, and began to function successfully apart from the warring to the south. Although it has not been recognized as a separate nation, the Somaliland Republic continues to declare itself independent. Members of the Murjateen clan in northeastern Somalia also formed their own government during the 1990s, calling their territory Puntland, although they agreed to rejoin Somalia if a central government was formed.

Ethnic Relations. Some 95 percent of the people of Somalia are ethnic Somalis, and relations with the small percentage of Arabs, Indians, Pakistanis, Asians, Europeans, and mixed groups living in Somalia are generally peaceful. With a history of colonization by the British, French, and Italians, the Somalis are said to be wary of foreigners, even fearful of possible renewed colonization. Somali civilians, however, welcomed U.N. troops arriving during Operation Restore Hope in the early 1990s, and most Somalis welcome the international relief workers who have become a part of daily life in post-civil war Somalia.

Urbanism, Architecture, and the Use of Space

Nomadic herders spend nearly all of their time outdoors. A large shade tree might provide a meeting place or a classroom.

The traditional shelter of the herders is the aqal, a dome-shaped, collapsible hut made from poles covered by hides, woven fiber mats, or sometimes cloth or tin. Easy to break down and reassemble, the aqal is carried on a camel's back and set up by the women of the family once a new camp is made. A bed made from wooden stakes covered with hides is the only furniture in the aqal. Nomads have few possessions, and each item has practical uses. Cooking utensils, storage boxes, stools, woven mats, and water bags are among the family's only household goods.

A nomad camp may be surrounded by a fence made from thorn bushes to keep out predators. Animals are also kept in corrals made from thorn bushes. A prayer area may be set apart within the camp by a circle of stones.

Farmers make permanent homes that are similar to the aqal. Round huts called mundals are made from poles and brush or vines plastered with mud, animal dung, and ashes and covered with a broad, cone-shaped thatched roof. Rectangular huts, often with flat tin roofs, are called arish. Other homes are built from logs, stone, brick, or cement. Farmers have a few pieces of wooden furniture and decorative pottery, gourds, or woven goods.

City dwellers often live in Arab-style whitewashed houses made of stone or brick covered with plaster or cement. These are one-or two-story houses, with a flat roof. Bars cover the lower windows, which rarely have screens or glass. Wealthy Somalis, Europeans, and others may have traditional Western-style homes with tile roofs and walled courtyards. Many Somalis, even in the cities, do not have electricity and running water in their homes.

Somalia's largest cities are the ports of Mogadishu, Merca, Baraawe, and Kismayu on the Indian Ocean, and Berbera on the Gulf of Aden. Other significant cities are Hargeisa and Burao in the north and Baidoa in the south. Mogadishu's oldest sector, Hammawein, contains the mosque of Fakr al-Din as well as many old Arab-style buildings. Italian occupants also built their own neighborhoods in Mogadishu. Much of this architecture was heavily damaged in the civil war, along with modern Somali government buildings such as Parliament House and Somali National University. The former palace of the sultan of Zanzibar still stands, although in poor condition, as a museum in Mogadishu. A few statues and monuments were erected in Mogadishu but several were destroyed, among them an equestrian statue of Muhammad Abdullah Hasan, erected after Somalia's independence in 1960. A monument to independence also was built in Mogadishu. The city's oldest mosque, the mosque of Sheik Abdul Aziz, built in 1238, survived the civil war, along with a Roman arch built in the early twentieth century.

Food and Economy

Food in Daily Life. Milk from camels, goats, and cows is a major food for Somali herdsmen and nomadic families. Young men tending camel herds during the rainy season may drink up to ten quarts of milk a day. Aging camels may be slaughtered for their meat, especially when guests are expected for a celebration, and the fatty camel's hump is considered a delicacy. Meat, including liver, from sheep and goats also is popular, but meat is served only a few times a month, usually on special occasions. Durra (a grain sorghum), honey, dates, rice, and tea are other food staples for nomads. Farmers in southern Somalia grow corn, beans, sorghum, millet, squash, and a few other vegetables and fruits. Boiled millet and rice are staples, but rice must be imported. The most popular bread is muufo, a flat bread made from ground corn flour. Somalis season their food with butter and ghee, the clear liquid skimmed from melted butter. They also sweeten their food with sugar, sorghum, or honey. A holdover from Italian occupation in the south is a love for pasta and marinara sauce. Although fish is plentiful in the waters off the Somali coast, Somalis generally do not like fish. In accordance with the Muslim faith, they do not eat pork or drink alcohol. Milk, tea, coffee, and water are favorite drinks. Carbonated drinks are available in cities.

Among nomads and farmers, cooking is usually done over a wood or charcoal fire outdoors or in a communal cooking hut, because homes are large enough only for sleeping. Grain is ground by hand, using primitive tools.

Restaurants are popular in cities, but women seldom dined out with men until the late 1990s. Arab cuisine is popular fare in many restaurants, Italian at others. Especially in Mogadishu, international restaurants serve Chinese, European, and sometimes American foods.

At home it is customary for women to serve the men first, and then eat with their children after the men have finished. Rural Somalis eat by scooping food from a bowl with the first three fingers of their right hand or with a spoon (as in many other Muslim and African cultures, the left hand is considered unclean because it is used for washing the body). A rolled banana leaf also may be used for scooping. Urban Somalis may use silverware when they dine, but many still enjoy eating with their fingers.

Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions. Weddings, births, circumcisions, and Islamic and secular holidays call for celebrations involving food. Families slaughter animals, make bread, and prepare food for guests and for the poor, who are often invited to join the celebration.

Basic Economy. Somalia is one of the world's poorest countries, and many gains made during the years after independence were lost in the destruction brought about by civil war in the 1990s. However, in 2000, individuals had begun to help rebuild cities through independent businesses. Among the factors hindering economic development is lack of adequate transportation. The country has no railroads, only one airline, and few paved roads. Financial assistance from the United States helped improve Somalia's major seaports and Mogadishu International Airport during the 1980s. Telecommunication systems were largely destroyed during the civil war. However, in 1999, independent businessmen in some towns established satellite telephone systems and electricity, and Somali livestock traders and other entrepreneurs conducted much of their business by telephone. Banking networks also were being established.

The basic monetary unit is the Somali shilling, with one hundred cents equal to one shilling. A large amount of the income received by Somalis comes from Somalis who have migrated to other countries to find work and send money and goods home to relatives.

Land Tenure and Property. In precolonial times, land claims were made by families and through bargaining among clan members. During European colonization, Italians established plantations in the riverine area and settled many poor Italian families on the land to raise crops. Since independence much of this land has been farmed by Somalis.

Somali nomads consider pastureland available to all, but if a family digs a water well, it is considered their possession. Under Siad Barre's socialist regime there was an effort to lease privately owned land to government cooperatives, but Somalis resented working land they did not own. Some land was sold in urban areas, but grazing land continued to be shared.

Commercial Activities. In the colonial era Italians developed banana, sugarcane, and citrus fruit plantations in southern Somalia. These again thrived in the late twentieth century with Italian assistance after a decade of decline due to high government taxation of exports in the 1980s. Livestock and animal products make up a large portion of the goods produced in Somalia.

The country's few natural resources, such as gypsum-anhydrite, quartz, uranium, iron ore, and possibly gold, have not been widely exploited.

Major Industries. Although Somalia is not an industrialized nation, there are some industries, such as fish and meat canneries, milk-processing plants, sugar refineries, leather-tanning factories, and pharmaceutical and electronics factories. Many of these were built with the help of foreign nations such as the former Soviet Union. Some mining and petroleum exploration has been done, with the help of Middle Eastern countries.

Trade. Transportation equipment, machinery, cement and other building materials, iron, and steel are major imports of Somalia. Most of the imports come from Italy, Ethiopia and Kenya, China, Saudi Arabia, India and Pakistan, the United States, and Great Britain. Livestock is the country's main export, especially camels, which are sold to Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations. Animal hides also are exported. Bananas are the chief crop export. Coffee, cotton, peanuts, mangoes, citrus fruits, and sugarcane are other important crops. Fishing and the export of frankincense and myrrh add to the economy.

Division of Labor. More than half of all Somalis are self-employed, as herders, farmers, or independent business owners. In the cities, some workers once held government jobs, and in 2000 a growing percentage of workers had factory, plantation, or fishing-industry jobs. Among rural Somalis of the Saab clan-family, lower castes still provide certain types of goods and services.

Social Stratification

Classes and Castes. The Samaal believe that their clan-family is superior to the Saab. The Saab clan-family developed a caste system that awards status to different groups based on their heritage or occupation. Lower-class groups among the Digil and Rahanwayn were identified by occupation. The largest group was the midgaan (a derogatory name), who served as barbers, circumcisers, and hunters. The Tumaal were blacksmiths and metalworkers. The Yibir served as fortune-tellers and makers of protective amulets and charms. In the late twentieth century, many from these groups found work in towns and cities and raised their status, and the old arrangements whereby they served certain clans had largely disappeared by the 1990s.

A small percentage of the peoples of the riverine and southern coastal area are descendants of a pre-Somali people who lived in the Horn of Africa. Added to this group are descendants of Africans once enslaved by the Somalis. These cultural groups are called habash. While not poorly treated, habash are considered inferior by the Somalis. Most habash are Muslims and speak Somali, although some, such as the coastal groups Bajuni and Amarani, speak Swahili.

Symbols of Social Stratification. Among the nomads, wealthier men were traditionally those who owned more camels and other livestock. Warriors and priests were considered to have the most prestigious vocations. In some Rahanwayn and Digil settlements, members are divided between Darkskins and Lightskins, with those of darker skins having slightly more prestige in ceremonies, although the two are considered equal in other ways.

By 2000, education, income, and the ability to speak foreign languages had become standards by which status was attained among urban Somalis.

Political Life

Government. During most of the 1990s there was no central government in Somalia. However, some of the fifty districts and eight regional councils formed at the Addis Accords of March 1993 survived into 2000.

In August 2000, Somalis met in a representative council in Djibouti and took the first steps toward reestablishing a government for Somalia. A 245-member assembly made up of men and women representing all clans chose a new president and wrote a transitional constitution. The assembly was to function as a transitional government for three years. It appointed a new Somali president, Abdikassim Salad Hassan, a leader of the Habir Gedir subclan in the Mogadishu region. Allied with the Islamic courts and Somali businessowners, Salad proposed unity, peace, and prosperity for all of Somalia. After three years under the transitional government, national elections were to be held.

Leadership and Political Officials. Somalis are traditionally an independent and democratic people but are fiercely loyal to their clan and its associated political party. Ceremonial clan leaders are called sultans, or bokor in Somali, a term referring to binding the people together. Actual rule and enforcement of clan laws usually fall to the elders and a council made up of the clan's adult males.

Somalia's first modern political party, the Somali Youth Club (SYC), was formed in Mogadishu in 1943, at the urging of British colonial officials. A multiclan organization that favored Somali unity, it was renamed the Somali Youth League (SYL) in 1947. Throughout Somalia's modern history it remained the strongest political party.

During Siad Barre's dictatorship, political parties were prohibited in Somalia, but several organized outside the country and sought to overthrow the regime. Among them was the Somali National Movement (SNM), a militant party organized by Isaaq clan members living in London. In alliance with the rebel United Somali Congress (USC) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), it was able to overthrow Siad Barre in 1991.

After ousting the dictator, however, disagreements and fighting broke out among the three parties as well as the clans, subclans, and various guerrilla groups, plummeting the nation into civil war that lasted throughout the 1990s.

Social Problems and Control. Under the central government formed at independence, Somalia developed a Western-style judicial system, with a penal code, a code of criminal court procedures, and a four-tiered court system. Islamic law (Shari'a ) and Somali customary law (heer ) were retained in many civil and interclan matters. The Somali Police Force evolved from forces organized during colonial administration by the Italians and the British. The most common crimes committed are shootings, robbery and theft, looting, and kidnapping for ransom.

Somali clans have a traditional means of compensating for lives lost in interclan disputes, thereby discouraging violence and encouraging peaceful settlement. The clan responsible for the death pays the victim's clan a fine, called dia, traditionally a set number of camels or other livestock. A certain percentage of the dia—called jiffo —is paid by the immediate relatives of the one responsible for the death to the immediate family of the deceased. Dia is also paid, in a lesser amount, for other crimes, such as rape, adultery, and theft. Dia-paying groups are formed by agreement among closely related clan members. Enforcement of dia customs falls to the elders and the clan council. If a matter cannot be settled peacefully, fighting breaks out between clans, followed by another peace council.

Military Activity. The Somali National Army (SNA) was formed at independence from military groups created under British and Italian colonial rule. Somalia was allied with the Soviet Union during the 1960s, receiving both military training and weapons from the Soviets, as well as from Egypt and other Muslim states. Before the Ogaden War of 1977–1978, Somalia's military was one of the largest and best-armored and mechanized in sub-Saharan Africa. After it lost the war and the Soviets withdrew support, however, the Somali military declined.

During the early 1980s it received training and weapons from the United States, France, Italy, and Saudi Arabia. However, when the Western world learned of human-rights violations under Siad Barre, it withdrew military support. After Siad Barre's fall, the Somali military ceased to exist.

Social Welfare and Change Programs

Probably the largest efforts at social welfare and change in Somalia came during the 1960s and 1970s, the years after independence, and the early years of Siad Barre's socialist regime. Barre attempted to do away with the clan system and create a heterogeneous society. Some nomads were settled as farmers, ranchers, or fishermen. Under Barre the status of women improved, a written alphabet was created for Somalia, and there were increased efforts in the areas of literacy and education.

Nongovernmental Organizations and Other Associations

Associations active in providing relief to the starving and the ill in Somalia during the late 1980s and 1990s were the International Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, the Red Crescent, the United Nations (U.N.) World Food Program, Save the Children Service, Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, Inc. (CARE), Irish Concern, and many others. Somalis provided a large portion of this care as well.

In 2000 and 2001, a dozen U.N. agencies, among them the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the U.N. Development Program (UNDP), provided all types of aid to Somalia. They continue to be assisted by NGOs both from around the world and within Somalia.

In 1994 a group of Somali women educated in Western countries returned to their homeland to help Somali women who were striving to rebuild the economy by starting their own businesses. The group, called the Somali Women's Trust, also helped establish girls' schools and women's health centers, and helped reestablish refugees in Somalia. Another Somali women's group, Candlelight, provides similar services.

Gender Roles and Statuses

Division of Labor by Gender. In traditional Samaal clans, men and older boys do the important work of tending camels and cattle, the most valuable animals. Girls and young boys tend sheep and goats. Somali men are considered warriors (waranle ), except for those few who choose the religious life. Adult men are also expected to serve on their clan-family council. Urban men may work as businessmen, blacksmiths, craftsmen, fishermen, or factory workers.

Women in nomadic clans are responsible for caring for children, cooking, and moving the family aqal. Women and girls in farming clans are responsible for planting and harvesting crops, caring for children, and cooking. Urban women may hold jobs in shops or offices or may run their own business.

The Relative Status of Women and Men. Somali women are expected to submit to men and to fulfill their duties as daughters, wives, and mothers. Although they do not wear the Muslim veil, they generally do not socialize with men in public places. Somali women living in the cities, especially those educated in other countries, dress and behave more like Western women.

Given the right to vote in newly independent Somalia, women began to take an active interest in politics and served on government committees and the People's Assembly. They served in military units and played sports. Opportunities for secondary and higher education had increased for women before the collapse of the government in 1991.

With many Somali men killed during the civil war or lost to diseases such as tuberculosis, women have learned to fend for themselves. They have shown remarkable adaptability and a talent for business. The United Nations and other international organizations launched campaigns in the late 1990s to help Somali women and girls get better health care, an education, and job skills training. Somali natives who have been educated abroad are returning to help with these endeavors. Several programs have been started to promote nomadic women's enterprises, such as the collecting of henna leaves for grinding into natural cosmetics. Women in urban areas sell wares in the streets or marketplaces or run their own shops.

In spite of condemnation by the United Nations and by modern Muslim leaders, nearly all Somali girls are forced to undergo the dangerous and disfiguring circumcision rite known to the United Nations as "female genital mutilation" (FGM). Somalia also has one of Africa's highest maternal mortality rates; approximately sixteen mothers die for every one thousand live births. Widespread efforts to correct unsafe practices in reproductive health are expected to improve these conditions in the twenty-first century.

Marriage, Family, and Kinship

Marriage. Somali marriages have traditionally been considered a bond between not just a man and a woman but also between clans and families. Until very recently, most Somali marriages were arranged, usually between an older man with some wealth and the father of a young woman he wished to wed. These customs still hold true in many rural areas in the twenty-first century. The man pays a bride price—usually in livestock or money—to the woman's family. Samaal traditionally marry outside their family lineage, or, if within the lineage, separated from the man by six or more generations. Saab follow the Arab tradition of marrying within the father's family lineage, with first cousins often marrying. A Somali bride often lives with her husband's family after marriage, with her own parents providing the home and household goods. She keeps her family name, however.

Weddings are joyous occasions, but the couple often signs an agreement giving the bride a certain amount of property should the couple divorce, which is common in Somalia. The husband holds the property in trust for her. Tradition calls for the wife to relinquish her right to the property if she initiates the divorce.

Islamic law permits a man to have up to four wives if he can provide them and their children with equal support. If a man repeats three times to his wife, "I divorce you," the couple is considered divorced. The wife is given a three-month grace period, however, in case she should be pregnant.

Today many urban Somalis choose a mate based on love and common interests rather than accepting an arranged marriage.

Domestic Unit. The Somali domestic unit consists of a man, his wife or wives, and their children. Elderly or unmarried relatives may live with the family. In homes with more than one wife, each wife usually lives with her children in her own house, and the husband and father divides his time among them. In the case of a divorce, children usually remain with their mother. The male is considered the head of the household, except where it is headed by a divorced or widowed woman.

Inheritance. Inheritance passes from father to son in Somali families. A wife remains a part of her father's lineage, while her children belong to her husband's lineage.

Under Islamic law, daughters are entitled to inherit half of what sons get, but in Somali society daughters usually did not receive valuable animals or land. Under Siad Barre's regime, social reforms included equal inheritance rights for women, although this was opposed by some Islamic leaders.

Kin Groups. Somali society is based on a clan-family structure. The two major clan groups are the Samaal (or Samale) and the Saab (or Sab), named for two brothers who are said to have been members of the prophet Muhammad's tribe, the Quraysh of Arabia. Many Somalis believe that their ancestor from Old Testament times was Noah's son Ham.

The Samaal, which make up about three-quarters of the Somali population, are divided into four main clan-families: the Dir, Daarood, Isaaq, and Hawiye. The Saab are divided into the Digil and Rahanwayn clan-families. Major clans can have thousands of members, each claiming descent from a common ancestor. These clans are subdivided into subclans and into primary lineage groups. Somali men trace their membership in a particular clan-family through their patrilineage, going back a dozen or more generations. Clan groups with the longest ancestry have the most prestige. Clans and subclans are associated with the territory they occupy for most of the year.

Socialization

Child Rearing and Education. Somali children are raised with much love but are also disciplined and taught to work from age five or six, with little time for play. In spite of numerous hardships, Somali children are known for their sense of joy and abundant laughter. Children are taught independence and self-reliance and to carefully observe the world around them.

Both boys and girls are circumcised during a ceremony and celebration. Boys and girls are kept separated, according to Islamic law, and traditionally do not date, although a group of teenage males do a courtship dance for girls of marriageable age.

Because of the high incidence of divorce, many children grow up with only one parent, usually the mother, although boys may stay with their father and his wives. Multiple wives make for family groups with many children.

Education for Somali children in all but the wealthiest urban families was practically nonexistent, except for training in reading the Qur'an, before the early 1970s. Boys in rural areas attended outdoor schools where they learned Arabic using wooden slates. Before independence some attended Roman Catholic schools, where they learned Arabic or Italian. Under Siad Barre, a Latin-based alphabet was created for the Somali language, which previously had no written form. The leader undertook a massive literacy campaign in Somalia and achieved some success, although many nomadic children still did not attend school, and many others, especially girls, dropped out after four years of primary school.

Students learned reading, writing, and arithmetic as well as Arabic, animal husbandry, and agriculture. A lack of trained teachers, materials, and schools, however, made secondary-school classes inadequate, and only about 10 percent of students went on to secondary school.

When civil war broke out, most secular education stopped, as schools were bombed and the government, which had hired teachers, collapsed. However, some dedicated teachers struggled on during the 1990s, often without pay. Students continued to come, eager to learn even when there were no chairs or desks and no roof on the school. In the absence of a government, parents contributed what they could toward supplies so their children could continue to get an education.

Higher Education. Somali National University in Mogadishu, founded in 1970, was the nation's principal university before the civil war. Courses were offered in education, sciences, law, medicine, engineering, geology, economics, agriculture, and veterinary science. The National Adult Education Center was established in the late 1970s to combat a relapse in literacy among the adult nomadic population.

In 1981 the Nomad Education Program was created by the Barre government, which established boarding schools in ten regions and selected students from various clan-families to attend school for sixty days. Students ranged in age from fourteen to fifty, but most were in their twenties. After completing the course, they went home and taught what they had learned to other members of the clan-family. The most relevant courses for the nomad students were those related to geography and the environment. Other valuable classes were those in personal hygiene, nutrition, first aid, and midwifery for female students. The Nomad Education Program, like so many others, died during the civil war.

Somali National University was largely destroyed in the fighting in Mogadishu. University professors and Somali intellectuals began working in 1993 to establish a private university in Mogadishu. The new Mogadishu University was finally opened in September 1997. It offers programs in Shari'a and Law, Education, Arts, Business and Economics, and Computer Science. Somaliland also opened a private university, Amoud University, in 1997. It is largely supported by international funding and by Somalis living in the United Arab Emirates.

Etiquette

In the Somali language soo maal, a common greeting of welcome, refers to the act of milking, offering a guest the opportunity to milk an animal and get himself something to drink. Somalis offer a milky tea and burn incense to welcome visitors.

Somalis greet one another by saying, "Maalin wanaagsan" (Good day) or "Nabad myah?" (How are you?). Men of the same clan-family then share a long handshake. Women greet one another informally and may hug and kiss one another on the cheek. Members of unrelated clan-families do not shake hands or exchange intimacies. Somalis also use certain Arab hand gestures to communicate.

Religion

Religious Beliefs. Religion is a major influence on the lives of Somalis. They are Sunni Muslims of the Shafi'ite rite, with great interest in Sufi spiritualism, characterized by chanting, whirling, chewing qat, (a narcotic leaf), and falling into a trance as a way of communing with Allah. They also include the veneration of Somali saints in religious worship.

Added to the daily practice of Islam is a belief in mortal spirits called jinn, said to be descended from a fallen heavenly spirit. According to folk beliefs, jinn can cause misfortune and illness or can help humans.

Somalis believe the poor, weak, or injured have special spiritual powers given by Allah, so Somalis are always kind to the less fortunate in hopes that they will not use this power for evil against them.

Religious Practitioners. Unlike other Muslims, Somalis believe that both their religious and secular leaders have the power to bless and to curse people. This power, believed to be given by Allah, is called baraka. Baraka is believed to linger at the tombs of Somali saints and to help cure illness and resolve other troubles upon a visit to the tomb. Islamic teachers and mosque officials make up a large portion of religious practitioners (Islam has no priests).

Somali followers of Sufiism, given the name Dervishes, dedicate themselves to a life of religion by preaching Islam and giving up all possessions. The Sufi are also known for the farming communities and religious centers they established in southern Somalia, called jamaat.

Among nomads, a respected male leader or religious devotee might be appointed wadad. His duties are to lead prayers and to perform ritual sacrifices on religious holidays and special occasions. He also learns folk astronomy, which is used for healing, divination, and to determine times for migration.

Other religious practitioners include the Yibir clan of the Saab. Yibir practitioners are called on to exorcise spirits and restore health, good fortune, or prosperity to individuals through prayers and ceremonies, including animal sacrifice.

Rituals and Holy Places. Mosques can be found in all Somali cities and towns. Nomads worship wherever they are, with men and women praying and studying the Qur'an separately. In accordance with Islam, Somalis are to pray five times each day, facing Mecca. They should recite the creed of Islam and observe zakat, or giving to the poor, if able. They should make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once and should observe the fast of Ramadan.

Tombs of the Somali holy men or sheiks, venerated as saints, have become national shrines. Pilgrims visit on the saint's annual feast day, usually in the month of his birth, when his power is believed to be the strongest.

Religious holidays include the Islamic holidays of Ramadan (the month of fasting); Id al-Fitr (the Little Feast); the First of Muharram (when an angel is said to shake the tree of life and death); Maulid an-Nabi (the birth of the prophet Muhammad); and Id al-Adha (commemorating the story of Abraham and his son Ishmael). Islamic holidays fall at different times of year according to the Islamic calendar. Holidays are celebrated with feasting and storytelling, visiting graves, giving to the poor, parades, plays, and ceremonies.

Death and the Afterlife. Somalis hold the Muslim view that each person will be judged by Allah in the afterlife. They also believe that a tree representing all Muslims grows at the boundary between Earth and Heaven (some believe the boundary is on the Moon). Each person is represented by a leaf on the tree. When an angel shakes the tree on the first day of the new year, in the Islamic month of Muharram, it is said that those whose leaves fall off will die within the coming year. Muslims also believe that a person who dies while fasting during Ramadan is especially blessed by Allah.

When a Somali dies, feasting and celebration are held, as they are at a birth. A Somali wife must mourn her husband's death in seclusion at home for four months and ten days, according to Islamic practice.

Medicine and Health Care

Before the civil war of the 1990s, Somalia's Ministry of Health regulated all medical practices and personnel, but with the breakdown of the government and the destruction of most hospitals and clinics, Somalia's health care system has declined. There are few doctors and hospitals, and many unqualified persons practice a form of medicine at private facilities, especially in Mogadishu and other cities. The absence of regulation carries over to prescription drugs, which are often improperly dispensed by pharmacies. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), along with international and Somali nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), provide much of the health care and health information services in Somalia. Most health care is free, but some hospitals charge patients a fee to help recover costs.

Tuberculosis and malaria are the two major causes of illness and death in the nation. Somalia had one of the world's highest tuberculosis rates in 2000, but it also had one of the highest cure rates, thanks to U.N. and other international organizations and their Somali health workers. In 2000 these organizations launched an aggressive program to fight malaria. They have also conducted ongoing polio, measles, and tetanus vaccination campaigns.

Cholera and other gastrointestinal diseases had become endemic in Mogadishu and other areas by 2000, largely because of the piles of rubbish and poor sanitation conditions resulting from civil war. Malnutrition and starvation, schistosomiasis, tetanus, leprosy, venereal disease, and skin and eye infections claim life and limb unnecessarily. Somalia is estimated to have a low prevalence of HIV and AIDS, compared with other African countries. In late 1999 studies showed from 8 to 9 percent of the subjects were HIV positive. Health workers are being trained in prevention and management of sexually transmitted diseases.

Somali folk medicine is often practiced by nomads and farmers who have no immediate access to medical care. Somalis believe that some kinds of illnesses are caused by possession of the body by spirits, which can be exorcised through ritual.

Secular Celebrations

Somalis celebrate Independence Day on 26 June, the date in 1960 when British Somaliland gained its independence. They celebrate the Foundation of the Republic on 1 July. At the beginning of August they hold a secular New Year celebration called Dab-Shid (Fire-Lighting) when they light a stick and jump over the fire.

The Arts and Humanities

Literature. Somalia has long been known as a nation of poets. A people with few possessions and no written language until the 1970s, Somalis developed an oral tradition of poetry and storytelling, that has been passed down through generations. Many of these poems and stories were written down in the late twentieth century. A popular new genre of song on the radio in the late twentieth century was heello, taken from Somali poetry. Some themes of Somali poetry are history, philosophy, and clan politics, as well as praise or ridicule of humans or animals. Probably the best-known Somali poet is spiritual and military leader Muhammad Abdullah Hasań, leader of the Muslim Dervishes.

Islamic poetry is also a Somali tradition; many poets were great religious leaders and are now considered saints. Somali Islamic poetry is written in Arabic, often in the form of prayer. Although Somali poets have been writing since at least the twelfth century, the most well-known Somali Islamic poets of recent times are Seylici (d. 1882), "Sheik Suufi" (d. 1905), and Sheik Uweys Maxamed (1869–1905).

Somali Islamic prose written in Arabic is called manqabah. Writers record the deeds and virtues of Somali sheiks, or religious leaders, some with miraculous powers. Somalis also read Arabic religious classics.

Modern Somali novelist Nuruddin Farah (b. 1945) has become internationally famous for his novels about African women's issues and the struggle for human rights in postcolonial Africa. His novels include From a Crooked Rib (1970), Maps (1986), and Gifts (1992). He was awarded the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1998.

Performance Arts. Somali plays were performed in the late twentieth century at the National Theater in Mogadishu and at small theaters in other cities. Somalis began to write plays under the influence of British and Italian colonists. Somali plays are now written in Somali, Arabic, English, and Italian. A well-known modern Somali playwright is Hassan Mumin (Leopard Among the Women, 1974; Contes de Djibouti, 1980).

The State of the Physical and Social Sciences

Astronomy has been a popular career for Somalis; astronomer Muusa H. Galaal wrote The Terminology and Practice of Somali Weather Lore, Astronomy, and Astrology (1968). Science and engineering students who might have studied in Somalia if not for civil war have emigrated to other countries to study, where they have successful careers in medicine and the physical and social sciences. Some have returned to Somalia to help their people. In the late twentieth century, telecommunications and computer science became popular areas of study and enterprise for Somalis as they sought to rebuild their war-torn country and keep pace with new technology. In 2000 Somalia had one of Africa's most well developed telecommunications systems, as well as Internet service for its expanding computer networks.

Bibliography

Abdi Sheik-Abdi. Divine Madness: Mohammed Abdulle Hassan (1856–1920), 1993.

Andrzejewski, B. W. "Islamic Literature of Somalia." Hans Wolff Memorial Lecture at Indiana University, 1983.

Brook, Diane L., and Brook, George A. "Social Studies for Somali Nomads." The Social Studies 84 (1): 5, 1993.

D'Haem, Jeanne. The Last Camel: True Stories of Somalia, 1997.

Ditmars, Hadani. "Women Rebuild Shattered Economy." African Business December 1994, p. 31.

"A Failed State That Is Succeeding in Parts." The Economist 28 August 1999, p. 33.

Fisher, Ian. "Somalis Get Leader; Now They Need a Nation." New York Times 31 August 2000, p. A1.

——. "With Warlords at Home, Somalis Talk Peace." New York Times 6 August 2000, p. N3.

Fox, Mary Virginia. "Somalia." In Mary Reidy, ed., Enchantment of the World, 1996.

Hassig, Susan M. "Somalia." In Cultures of the World, 1997.

Howe, Jonathan T. "The United States and United Nations in Somalia: The Limits of Involvement." Washington Quarterly 18 (3) 1995.

"Infibulation Still Practiced by Somalis in North-Eastern Kenya." WIN News 25 (1): 1999.

Larson, Charles R. "Full Disclosure." World and I 13 (12): 1998.

Lewis, Ioan M. Blood and Bone: The Call of Kinship in Somalia Society, 1995.

——. The Modern History of Somalia: Nation and State in the Horn of Africa, 1988.

Metz, Helen Chapin, ed. Somalia: A Country Study, 1993.

Press, Robert. The New Africa: Dispatches from a Changing Continent, 1999.

Web Sites

Bower, Hilary. "World Health Organization Somalia Health Update." www.unsomalia.org

United Nations Development Programme Somalia. "Somalia: A Health System in Crisis." www.unsomalia.org/sectors/health_nutrition/stories/20001221.htm

—Ann H. Shurgin

Somalia

PROFILE
GEOGRAPHY
PEOPLE
HISTORY
GOVERNMENT
POLITICAL CONDITIONS
ECONOMY
DEFENSE
FOREIGN RELATIONS
U.S.-SOMALI RELATIONS
TRAVEL

Compiled from the December 2007 Background Note and supplemented with additional information from the State Department and the editors of this volume. See the introduction to this set for explanatory notes.

Official Name: Somalia

NOTE: There is no official U.S. representation in Somalia. Statistical data on Somalia in this report are subject to dispute and error.

PROFILE

Geography

Area: 637,657 sq. km.; slightly smaller than Texas.

Cities: Capital—Mogadishu. Other cities—Beledweyne, Kismayo, Baidoa, Jowhar, Merca, Gaalkayo, Bosasso, Hargeisa, Berbera.

Terrain: Mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in the north.

Climate: Principally desert; December to February—northeast monsoon, moderate temperatures in north, and very hot in the south; May to October—southwest monsoon, torrid in the north, and hot in the south; irregular rainfall; hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons.

People

Nationality: Noun—Somali(s). Adjective—Somali.

Population: (2006 est., no census exists) 8.8 million (of which an estimated 2 million in Somaliland).

Annual growth rate: (2006 est.) 2.85%.

Ethnic groups: Somali, with a small non-Somali minority (mostly Bantu and Arabs).

Religions: 99.9% Muslim.

Languages: Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English.

Education: Literacy—total population that can read and write, 37.8%: male 49.7%; female 25.8%.

Health: Infant mortality rate—114.9/1,000 live births. Life expectancy at birth—total population: 48.7 yrs.

Work force: (3.7 million; very few are skilled workers) Pastoral nomad—60%. Agriculture, government, trading, fishing, industry, handicrafts, and other—40%.

Government

Type: Transitional government, known as the Transitional Federal Government, established in October 2004 with a 5-year mandate leading to the establishment of a permanent government following national elections in 2009.

Independence: July 1, 1960 (from a merger between the former Somaliland Protectorate under British rule, which became independent from the U.K. on June 26, 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on July 1, 1960, to form the Somali Republic).

Constitution: None in force. Note: A Transitional Federal Charter was established in February 2004 and is expected to serve as the basis for a future constitution in Somalia. In August 2004, the Somali Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA) was established as part of the IGAD-led Somalia National Reconciliation Conference in accordance with the Charter. The Somalia National Reconciliation Conference concluded following the election of a Transitional President in October 2004.

Government branches: Executive—On October 10, 2004, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was elected Transitional Federal President of Somalia for a five-year period. On October 29, 2007, Ali Mohamed Gedi resigned as Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal Government. On November 22, 2007, President Yusuf appointed Nur “Adde” Hassan Hussein as the new Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal Government. A cabinet, known as the Council of Ministers, also exists; Prime Minister Hussein is currently in the process of forming a new cabinet. Legislative—parliamentary: Transitional Federal Assembly, established in August 2004. Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur was elected Speaker of the Assembly on January 31, 2007. Judicial—Supreme Court not functioning; no functioning nationwide legal system; informal legal system based on previously codified law, Islamic (shari'a) law, customary practices, and the provisions of the Transitional Federal Charter.

Political parties: None.

Note: In 1991, a congress drawn from the inhabitants of the former Somaliland Protectorate declared withdrawal from the 1960 union with Somalia to form the self-declared Republic of Somaliland. Somaliland has not received international recognition, but has maintained a de jure separate status since that time. Its form of government is republican, with a bicameral legislature including an elected elders chamber and a house of representatives. The judiciary is independent, and various political parties exist. In line with the Somaliland Constitution, Vice President Dahir Riyale Kahin assumed the presidency following the death of former president Mohamed Ibrahim Egal in 2002. Kahin was elected President of Somaliland in elections determined to be free and fair by international observers in May 2003. Elections for the 84-member lower house of parliament took place on September 29, 2005 and were described as transparent and credible by international observers.

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (no nationwide elections).

Political subdivisions: 18 regions (plural—NA; singular—Gobolka). Awdal, Bakool, Banaadir, Bari, Bay, Galguduud, Gedo, Hiraan, Jubbada Dhexe, Jubbada Hoose, Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag, Shabeellaha Dhexe, Shabeellah Hoose, Sool, Togdheer, Woqooyi Galbeed.

Budget: N/A.

Defense: N/A.

National holidays: July 1 (June 26 in Somaliland).

Economy

GDP: (2005 est.) U.S. $4.809 billion.

Annual growth rate: (2005 est.) 2.4%.

Per capita GDP: (2005 est.) $600.

Avg. inflation rate: N/A.

Natural resources: Largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, uranium, copper, and salt; likely petroleum and natural gas reserves.

Agriculture: Products—livestock, fish, bananas, corn, sorghum, sugar. Arable land—13%, of which 2% is cultivated.

Industry: Types—Telecommunications, livestock, fishing, textiles, transportation, and limited financial services. Somalia's surprisingly innovative private sector has continued to function despite the lack of a functioning central government since 1991.

Trade: Exports—$241 million (f.o.b., 2004 est.) livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal, scrap metal. Major markets—United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Oman. Imports—$576 million (f.o.b., 2004 est.) food grains, animal and vegetable oils, petroleum products, construction materials, manufactured products, qat. Major suppliers—Djibouti, Kenya, Brazil, India, United Arab Emirates, Oman.

Aid disbursed: N/A. Primary aid donors—United States, European Union, Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.

Remittances: (2006 est.) $800 million to $1 billion.

GEOGRAPHY

Somalia is located on the east coast of Africa on and north of the Equator and, with Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Kenya, is often referred to as the Horn of Africa. It comprises Italy's former Trust Territory of Somalia and the former British Protectorate of Somaliland (now seeking recognition as an independent state). The coastline extends 2,720 kilometers (1,700 mi.).

The northern part of the country is hilly, and in many places the altitude ranges between 900 and 2,100 meters (3,000 ft.-7,000 ft.) above sea level. The central and southern areas are flat, with an average altitude of less than 180 meters (600 ft.). The Juba and the Shabelle Rivers rise in Ethiopia and flow south across the country toward the Indian Ocean. The Sha-belle, however, does not reach the sea.

Major climatic factors are a year-round hot climate, seasonal monsoon winds, and irregular rainfall with recurring droughts. Mean daily maximum temperatures range from 30°C to 40°C (85o F-105°F), except at higher elevations and along the east coast. Mean daily minimums usually vary from about 15°C to 30°C (60°F-85°F). The southwest monsoon, a sea breeze, makes the period from about May to October the mildest season in Somalia. The December-February period of the northeast monsoon also is relatively mild, although prevailing climatic conditions in Somalia are rarely pleasant. The “tangambili” periods that intervene between the two rainy seasons (October-November and March-May) are hot and humid.

PEOPLE

The Cushitic populations of the Somali Coast in the Horn of Africa have an ancient history. Known by ancient Arabs as the Berberi, archaeological evidence indicates their presence in the Horn of Africa by A.D. 100 and possibly earlier. As early as the seventh century A.D., the indigenous Cushitic peoples began to mingle with Arab and Persian traders who had settled along the coast. Interaction over the centuries led to the emergence of a Somali culture bound by common traditions, a single language, and the Islamic faith.

The Somali-populated region of the Horn of Africa stretches from the Gulf of Tadjoura in modern-day Djibouti through Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, and down to the coastal regions of southern Kenya. Unlike many countries in Africa, the Somali nation extends beyond its national borders. Since gaining independence in 1960, the goal of Somali nationalism, also known as Pan-Somalism, has been the unification of all Somali populations, forming a Greater Somalia. This issue has been a major cause of past crises between Somalia and its neighbors—Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti.

Today, about 60% of all Somalis are nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists who raise cattle, camels, sheep, and goats. About 25% of the population is settled farmers who live mainly in the fertile agricultural zone between the Juba and Shabelle Rivers in southern Somalia. The remainder of the population (15%-20%) is urban.

Sizable ethnic groups in the country include Bantu agricultural workers, several thousand Arabs and some hundreds of Indians and Pakistanis. Nearly all inhabitants speak the Somali language, which remained unwritten until October 1973, when the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) proclaimed it the nation's official language and decreed an orthography using Latin letters. Somali is now the language of instruction in schools, although Arabic, English, and Italian also are used extensively.

HISTORY

Early history traces the development of the Somali state to an Arab sultanate, which was founded in the seventh century A.D. by Koreishite immigrants from Yemen. During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese traders landed in present Somali territory and ruled several coastal towns. The sultan of Oman and Zanzibar subsequently took control of these towns and their surrounding territory. Somalia's modern history began in the late 19th century, when various European powers began to trade and establish themselves in the area. The British East India Company's desire for unrestricted harbor facilities led to the conclusion of treaties with the sultan of Tajura as early as 1840. It was not until 1886, however, that the British gained control over northern Somalia through treaties with various Somali chiefs who were guaranteed British protection. British objectives centered on safeguarding trade links to the east and securing local sources of food and provisions for its coaling station in Aden. The boundary between Ethiopia and British Somaliland was established in 1897 through treaty negotiations between British negotiators and King Menelik.

During the first two decades of this century, British rule was challenged through persistent attacks by a dervish rebellion led by Mohamed Abdullah, known as the “Mad Mullah” by the British. A long series of intermittent engagements and truces ended in 1920 when British warplanes bombed Abdullah's stronghold at Taleex. Although Abdullah was defeated as much by rival Somali factions as by British forces, he was lauded as a popular hero and stands as a major figure of national identity to many Somalis.

In 1885, Italy obtained commercial advantages in the area from the sultan of Zanzibar and in 1889 concluded agreements with the sultans of Obbia and Aluula, who placed their territories under Italy's protection. Between 1897 and 1908, Italy made agreements with the Ethiopians and the British that marked out the boundaries of Italian Somaliland. The Italian Government assumed direct administration, giving the territory colonial status.

Italian occupation gradually extended inland. In 1924, the Jubaland Province of Kenya, including the town and port of Kismayo, was ceded to Italy by the United Kingdom. The subjugation and occupation of the independent sultanates of Obbia and Mijertein, begun in 1925, were completed in 1927. In the late 1920s, Italian and Somali influence expanded into the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia. Continuing incursions climaxed in 1935 when Italian forces launched an offensive that led to the capture of Addis Ababa and the Italian annexation of Ethiopia in 1936.

Following Italy's declaration of war on the United Kingdom in June 1940, Italian troops overran British Somaliland and drove out the British garrison. In 1941, British forces began operations against the Italian East African Empire and quickly brought the greater part of Italian Somaliland under British control. From 1941 to 1950, while Somalia was under British military administration, transition toward self-government was begun through the establishment of local courts, planning committees, and the Protectorate Advisory Council. In 1948 Britain turned the Ogaden and neighboring Somali territories over to Ethiopia.

In Article 23 of the 1947 peace treaty, Italy renounced all rights and titles to Italian Somaliland. In accordance with treaty stipulations, on September 15, 1948, the Four Powers referred the question of disposal of former Italian colonies to the UN General Assembly. On November 21, 1949, the General Assembly adopted a resolution recommending that Italian Somaliland be placed under an international trusteeship system for 10 years, with Italy as the administering authority, followed by independence for Italian Somaliland. In 1959, at the request of the Somali Government, the UN General Assembly advanced the date of independence from December 2 to July 1, 1960.

Meanwhile, rapid progress toward self-government was being made in British Somaliland. Elections for the Legislative Assembly were held in February 1960, and one of the first acts of the new legislature was to request that the United Kingdom grant the area independence so that it could be united with Italian Somaliland when the latter became independent. The protectorate became independent on June 26, 1960; five days later, on July 1, it joined Italian Somaliland to form the Somali Republic.

In June 1961, Somalia adopted its first national constitution in a countrywide referendum, which provided for a democratic state with a parliamentary form of government based on European models. During the early post-independence period, political parties were a fluid concept, with one-person political parties forming before an election, only to defect to the winning party following the election. A constitutional conference in Mogadishu in April 1960, which made the system of government in the southern Somali trust territory the basis for the future government structure of the Somali Republic, resulted in the concentration of political power in the former Italian Somalia capital of Mogadishu and a southern-dominated central government, with most key government positions occupied by southern Somalis, producing increased disenchantment with the union in the former British-controlled north. Pan-Somali nationalism, with the goal of uniting the Somali-populated regions of French Somaliland (Djibouti), Kenya and Ethiopia into a Greater Somalia, remained the driving political ideology in the initial post-independence period.

Under the leadership of Mohamed Ibrahim Egal (prime minister from 1967 to 1969), however, Somalia renounced its claims to the Somali-populated regions of Ethiopia and Kenya, greatly improving its relations with both countries. Egal attempted a similar approach with Ethiopia, but the move towards reconciliation with Ethiopia, which had been a traditional enemy of Somalia since the 16th century, made many Somalis furious, including the army. Egal's reconciliation effort toward Ethiopia is argued to be one of the principal factors that provoked a bloodless coup on October 21, 1969 and subsequent installation of Maj. Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre as president, bringing an abrupt end to the process of party-based constitutional democracy in Somalia.

Following the coup, executive and legislative power was vested in the 20-member Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC), headed by Barre. The SRC pursued a course of “scientific socialism” that reflected both ideological and economic dependence on the Soviet Union. The government instituted a national security service, centralized control over information, and initiated a number of grassroots development projects. Barre reduced political freedoms and used military force to seize and redistribute rich farmlands in the interriverine areas of southern Somalia, relying on the use of force and terror against the Somali population to consolidate his political power base.

The SRC became increasingly radical in foreign affairs, and in 1974, Somalia and the Soviet Union concluded a treaty of friendship and cooperation. As early as 1972, tensions began increasing along the Somali-Ethiopian border; these tensions heightened after the accession to power in Ethiopia in 1973 of the Mengistu Haile Mariam regime, which turned increasingly toward the Soviet Union. In the mid-1970s, the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) began guerrilla operations in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. Following the overthrow of the Ethiopian Emperor in 1975, Somalia invaded Ethiopia in 1977 in a second attempt to regain the Ogaden, and the second attempt initially appeared to be in Somalia's favor. The SNA moved quickly toward Harer, Jijiga, and Dire Dawa, the principal cities of the region. However, following the Ethiopian revolution, the new Ethiopian government shifted its alliance from the West to the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union supplied Ethiopia with 10,000-15,000 Cuban troops and Soviet military advisors during the 1977-78 Ogaden war, shifting the advantage to Ethiopia and resulting in Somalia's defeat. In November 1977,Barre expelled all Soviet advisers and abrogated the friendship agreement with the U.S.S.R. In March 1978, Somali forces retreated into Somalia; however, the WSLF continued to carry out sporadic but greatly reduced guerrilla activity in the Ogaden. Such activities also were subsequently undertaken by another dissident group, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).

Following the 1977-1978 Ogaden war, desperate to find a strong external alliance to replace the Soviet Union, Somalia abandoned its Socialist ideology and turned to the West for international support, military equipment, and economic aid. In 1978, the United States reopened the U.S. Agency for International Development mission in Somalia. Two years later, an agreement was concluded that gave U.S. forces access to military facilities at the port of Berbera in northwestern Somalia. In the summer of 1982, Ethiopian forces invaded Somalia along the central border, and the United States provided two emergency airlifts to help Somalia defend its territorial integrity. From 1982 to 1988, the United States viewed Somalia as a partner in defense in the context of the Cold War. Somali officers of the National Armed Forces were trained in U.S. military schools in civilian as well as military subjects.

Following the Ogaden war, the Barre regime violently suppressed opposition movements and ethnic groups, particularly the Isaaq clan in the northern region, using the military and elite security forces to quash any hint of rebellion. By the 1980s, an all-out civil war developed in Somalia. Opposition groups began to form following the end of the Ogaden war, beginning in 1979 with a group of dissatisfied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF). In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre regime, the Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre regime. In January 1989, the United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group of Somalis from the Haw-iye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Mohamed Farah “Aideed,” a former political prisoner imprisoned by Barre from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other opposition groups, including the SNM and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Ogadeen sub-clan force under Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. In 1988, at the President's order, aircraft from the Somali National Air Force bombed the city of Hargeisa in northwestern Somalia, the former capital of British Somaliland, killing nearly 10,000 civilians and insurgents. The warfare in the northwest sped up the decay already evident elsewhere in the republic. Economic crisis, brought on by the cost of anti-insurgency activities, caused further hardship as Siad Barre and his cronies looted the national treasury.

By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre's government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre's effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM forces advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed opposition factions drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNI-TAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew.

Following the collapse of the Barre regime in 1991, various groupings of Somali factions sought to control the national territory (or portions thereof) and fought small wars with one another. Approximately 14 national reconciliation conferences were convened over the succeeding decade. Efforts at mediation of the Somali internal dispute were also undertaken by many regional states. In the mid-1990s, Ethiopia played host to several Somali peace conferences and initiated talks at the Ethiopian city of Sodere, which led to some degree of agreement between competing factions. The Governments of Egypt, Yemen, Kenya, and Italy also have attempted to bring the Somali factions together. In 1997, the Organization of African Unity and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) gave Ethiopia the mandate to pursue Somali reconciliation. In 2000, Djibouti hosted a major reconciliation conference (the 13th such effort), which in August resulted in creation of the Transitional National Government (TNG), whose 3-year mandate expired in August 2003. The absence of a central government in Somalia also allowed outside forces to become more influential by supporting various groups and persons in Somalia, particularly Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Egypt, Yemen, and Libya, all of which have supported various Somali factions and transitional governments.

GOVERNMENT

A transitional government, the components of which are known as the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) was formed in 2004 following the conclusion of a 2-year reconciliation conference. The TFIs include a transitional parliament, known as the Transitional Federal Assembly (formed in August 2004), as well as a Transitional Federal Government (TFG) that includes a transitional President, Prime Minister and a cabinet known as the “Council of Ministers.” For administrative purposes, Somalia is divided into 18 regions; the nature, authority, and structure of regional governments vary, where they exist.

Principal Government Officials

Last Updated: 2/1/2008

Somalia has lacked any internationally recognized central government since the fall of the Siad Barre regime in 1991. The current Transitional Federal Government is the fifteenth attempt to create a formal state. The country is currently controlled by various political and regional factions as well as local warlords in the south and in two “republics” in the north. The former British colony of Somaliland—consisting of five districts in the northwest—declared independence in 1991, and the northeastern region—known as Puntland—declared autonomy in 1998.

Pres.: Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed

Prime Min.: Ali Mohamed GEDI

Dep. Prime Min.: ABDULLAHI SHEIKH Ismail

Dep. Prime Min.:

Dep. Prime Min.: Salim Alio IBRO

Min. of Agriculture: Abdulkadir Nur ARALE

Min. of Air & Land Transport: Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed HABSADE

Min. of Commerce: Abdullahi Ahmed AFRAH

Min. of Constitution & Federal Affairs: ABDULLAHI SHEIKH Ismail

Min. of Culture & Higher Education: Salim Alio IBRO

Min. of Defense: Abdirisak ISAQ BIHI

Min. of Education: Ismail Mohamed Hurre BUBA

Min. of Environment: Mohamed Mahamud HAYD

Min. of Finance: Hassan Mohamed Nur SHATIGADUD

Min. of Fisheries & Marine Resources: HASSAN ABSHIR Farah

Min. of Foreign Affairs & Intl. Cooperation: Husayn Elabe FAHIYE

Min. of Health: Qamar Adan ALI

Min. of Industry: Mohamed Abdullahi KAMIL

Min. of Information: Madobe NOUNO

Min. of Interior: Mohamed Mohamud Guled GAMADHERE

Min. of Justice: Hassan Dimbil ROBLE

Min. of Labor & Human Resources: Salah ALI FARAH

Min. of Livestock, Forestry, & Range Development: Ali Ahmed JAMA

Min. of Minerals & Water Resources: Mohamed Nurani BAKAR

Min. of National Security: Abdulahi Abdi GARUN

Min. of Petrol & Energy: Abdullahi Yussuf MOHAMED

Min. of Planning & Census: Ali OSOBLE

Min. of Ports & Marine Transport: Ali ISMAIL ABDI-Giir

Min. of Post & Telecommunications: ABDI MOHAMED Tarrah

Min. of Public Works & Housing:

Min. of Reconciliation & Diaspora Relationship: Mohamed Abdi HAYIR

Min. of Rehabilitation & Resettlement: Abdirahman Jama ABDALLA

Min. of Religious Affairs: Sheikh Hassan Ismail BILE

Min. of Sports & Youth Affairs: MAULID Ma'ane Mahamud

Min. of Tourism & Wildlife: Ali Mohamed Mohamud HARED

Min. of Women Development & Family Affairs: Amina Mohamed MURSAL

Governor, Central Bank:

Permanent Representative to the UN, New York: Elmi Ahmed DUALE

POLITICAL CONDITIONS

In early 2002, Kenya organized a reconciliation effort under IGAD auspices known as the Somalia National Reconciliation Conference, which concluded in October 2004. In August 2004, the Somali Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA) was established as part of the IGAD-led process. Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was elected President of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia on October 10, 2004. The components of the TFG, including the Parliament and Executive, are known as the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs).

Two regional administrations exist in northern Somalia—the self-declared “Republic of Somaliland” in the northwest and the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in the northeast. In Somaliland, which is made up of the former British protectorate, Dahir Riyale Kahin was elected President in presidential elections deemed free and fair by international observers in May 2003. The area of Puntland declared itself autonomous (although not independent) in 1998 with its capital at Garowe. General Mohamed Adde Muse was elected President by the Puntland parliament in January 2005. Puntland declared it would remain autonomous until a federated Somalia state was established.

ECONOMY

Somalia lacks natural resources and faces major development challenges, and recent economic reverses have left its people increasingly dependent on remittances from abroad. Its economy is pastoral and agricultural, with livestock—principally camels, cattle, sheep, and goats—representing the main form of wealth. Livestock exports in recent years have been severely reduced by periodic bans, ostensibly for concerns of animal health, by Arabian Peninsula states. Drought has also impaired agricultural and livestock production. Because rainfall is scanty and irregular, farming generally is limited to certain coastal districts, areas near Hargeisa, and the Juba and Shabelle River valleys. The agricultural sector of the economy consists mainly of banana plantations located in the south, which has used modern irrigation systems and up-to-date farm machinery.

A small fishing industry exists in the north where tuna, shark, and other warm-water fish are caught, although fishing production is seriously affected by poaching. Aromatic woods—frankincense and myrrh—from a small and diminishing forest also contribute to the country's exports. Minerals, including uranium and likely deposits of petroleum and natural gas, are found throughout the country, but have not been exploited commercially. Petroleum exploration efforts have ceased due to insecurity and instability. Illegal production in the south of charcoal for export has led to widespread deforestation. With the help of foreign aid, small industries such as textiles, handicrafts, meat processing, and printing are being established. The absence of central government authority, as well as profiteering from counterfeiting, has rapidly debased Somalia's currency. By the spring of 2002, the Somali shilling had fallen to over 30,000 shillings to the U.S. dollar. The self-declared Republic of Somaliland issues its own currency, the Somaliland shilling, which is not accepted outside of the self-declared republic.

There are no railways in Somalia; internal transportation is by truck and bus. The national road system nominally comprises 22,100 kilometers (13,702 mi.) of roads that include about 2,600 kilometers (1,612 mi.) of all-weather roads, although most roads have received little maintenance for years and have seriously deteriorated.

Air transportation is provided by small air charter firms and craft used by drug smugglers. A number of airlines operate from Hargeisa. Some private airlines, including Daallo Airlines, serve several domestic locations as well as Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates. The UN and other NGOs operate air service for their missions.

The European Community and the World Bank jointly financed construction of a deepwater port at Mogadishu (currently closed). The Soviet Union improved Somalia's deepwater port at Berbera in 1969. Facilities at Berbera were further improved by a U.S. military construction program completed in 1985, but they have since become dilapidated. During the 1990s the United States renovated a deepwater port at Kismayo that serves the fertile Juba River basin and is vital to Somalia's export industry. Smaller ports are located at Merca, Brava, and Bossaso. Absence of security and lack of maintenance and improvement are major issues at most Somali ports.

Radiotelephone service is available to both to regional and international locations. The public telecommunications system has been destroyed or dismantled, but cellular phone service is readily available throughout the country. Somalia is linked to the outside world via ship-to-shore communications (INMARSAT) as well as links to overseas satellite operators by private telecommunications operators (including cellular telephone systems) in major towns. Radio broadcasting stations operate at Mogadishu, Hargeisa, and Galkaiyo, with programs in Somali and some other languages. There are two television broadcast stations in Mogadishu and one in Hargeisa.

DEFENSE

The Transitional Federal Government and other various groups throughout Somalia are estimated to control militias ranging in strength from hundreds to thousands. Some groups possess limited inventories of older armored vehicles and other heavy weapons, and small arms are prevalent throughout Somalia.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Somalia followed a foreign policy of nonalignment for a brief period following independence. In 1970, the Siad Barre regime declared a national ideology based on scientific Socialism and aligned its foreign policy with the Soviet Union and China. In the 1980s, Somalia shifted its alignment to the West following a territorial conflict with Ethiopia over the disputed Somali-populated region of the Ogaden from 1977-78, which was supported by the Soviet Union. The central government also sought ties with many Arab countries, and continued to receive financial and military support from several Arab countries prior to its collapse in 1991.

In 1963, Somalia severed diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom for a period following a dispute over Kenya's Somali-populated northeastern region (Northern Frontier Dis-ict), an area inhabited mainly by Somalis. Related problems have arisen from the boundary with Ethiopia and the large-scale migrations of Somali nomads between Ethiopia and Somalia. In the aftermath of the 1977-78 war between Somalia and Ethiopia, the Government of Somalia continued to call for self-determination for ethnic Somalis living in the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia. At the March 1983 Nonaligned Movement summit in New Delhi, President Siad Barre stated that Somalia harbored no expansionist aims and was willing to negotiate with Ethiopia over the disputed Ogaden region.

Following the collapse of the Barre regime, the foreign policy of the various entities in Somalia, including the Transitional Federal Government, has centered on gaining international recognition, winning international support for national reconciliation, and obtaining international economic assistance.

U.S.-SOMALI RELATIONS

Although the U.S. never formally severed diplomatic relations with Somalia, the U.S. Embassy in Somalia has been closed since the collapse of the Siad Barre government in 1991. The United States maintains regular dialogue with the Transitional Federal Government and other key stakeholders in Somalia through the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. Consular coverage for Somalia also is maintained by U.S. Embassy Nairobi, while American Citizens Services in the self-declared Republic of Somaliland are provided by the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

Last Updated: 2/19/2008

NAIROBI (E) United Nations Avenue, Gigiri , Nairobi, APO/FPO Unit 64100, APO/AE 09831, 254-20-363-6000, Fax 254-20-363-6157, INMAR-SAT Tel 683-142-148, Workweek: Monday-Thursday, 0715-1630; Friday, 0715-1215, Website: http//:nairobi.usembassy.gov.

TRAVEL

Consular Information Sheet

October 4, 2007

Country Description: Since the collapse of the central government in 1991, Somalia has been subject to widespread violence and instability. A Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was established in 2004 to guide the country through a transitional process designed to—result in a new constitution and elections in 2009. However, the TFG lacks governance capacity and exercises only limited control of Mogadishu and parts of southern and central Somalia. General insecurity and inter-and intra-clan violence frequently occur throughout the country, and attacks and fighting between anti-government elements and TFG and Ethiopian forces take place regularly in Mogadishu. The United States has no official representation in Somalia.

In 1991, the northwest part of the country proclaimed itself the Republic of Somaliland, and it now has its own regional governing authority; however, Somaliland has not received international recognition as an independent state. The northeastern section of Somalia, known as the semiautonomous region of Puntland, has also made efforts to establish a regional governing authority. Somalia's economy was seriously damaged by the civil war and its aftermath, but the private sector is trying to reemerge. Tourist facilities are nonexistent.

Entry Requirements: A passport is required for travel to Somaliland and Puntland. Both regions require a visa and issue their own at their respective ports of entry. For travel to other parts of Somalia, including Mogadishu, a passport is required; however, there is no established governing authority capable of issuing a universally recognized visa. Air and seaports are under the control of local authorities that make varying determinations of what is required of travelers who attempt to use these ports of entry.

Travelers may obtain the latest information on visas as well as any additional details regarding entry requirements from the Permanent Representative of the Somali Republic to the United Nations, telephone (212) 688-9410/5046; fax (212) 759-0651, located at 425 East 61st Street, Suite 702, New York, NY 10021. Persons outside the United States may attempt to contact the nearest Somali embassy or consulate. All such establishments, where they exist, are affiliated with the TFG, whose authority is not established throughout Somalia.

Safety and Security: Since the U.S. does not have an Embassy or any other diplomatic presence in any part of Somalia, including Somaliland and Puntland, the U.S. government cannot provide any consular services to U.S. citizens in Somalia. Limited American Citizen Services are available for travelers to Somalia at the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi and Djibouti.

Somaliland has experienced a level of stability that has not been present in other parts of Somalia. However, travelers should always check current conditions in Somaliland before traveling. Terrorist attacks occurred against international relief workers, including Westerners, throughout Somalia and Somaliland in late 2003 through early 2004, which resulted in a number of murders. In early 2006, an American citizen living and working in southern Somalia was kidnapped and held for ransom. In July 2007, kidnapping threats were issued against international humanitarian assistance workers in Puntland. Additionally, there have been threats against Westerners in Somalia, including Somaliland. Armed conflict is commonplace in the capital city of Mogadishu. All visitors are urged to restrict their movements in the region. Persons traveling to or through this area should also be aware that incidents such as armed banditry, road assaults, kidnappings for ransom, shootings and grenade attacks on public markets, and detonations of anti-personnel and-vehicle land mines regularly occur. Sporadic outbreaks of civil unrest persist in the rest of the country.

Cross-border violence occurs periodically. The area near Somalia's border with Kenya has been the site of numerous incidents of violent criminal activity, including kidnappings and grenade attacks on hostels used by international aid workers. U.S. citizens who decide to visit the area should be aware that they could encounter such criminal activity.

Americans considering seaborne travel around Somalia's coastal waters should exercise extreme caution, given numerous recent incidents of vessel hijacking and/or piracy. Since 2005 there have been numerous acts and attempted acts of piracy in Somalia's coastal waters, especially off of the Horn of Africa. Piracy remains rampant off the shores of south central Somalia and Puntland. Seaborne travelers should exercise extreme caution, as these groups have proven themselves well armed and dangerous. When transiting in and around the Horn of Africa and/or in the Red Sea, it is strongly recommended that vessels convoy in groups and maintain good communications contact at all times. Marine channels 13 and 16 VHF-FM are international call-up and emergency channels and are commonly monitored by ships at sea. 2182 Mhz is the HF international call-up and emergency channel. In the Gulf of Aden, transit routes farther offshore reduce, but do not eliminate, the risk of contact with suspected assailants. Wherever possible, travel in trafficked sea-lanes. Avoid loitering in or transiting isolated or remote areas. In the event of an attack, consider activating the “Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB).” Vessels may also contact the Yemeni Coast Guard 24-hour Operations Center at (967) 1-562-402. The Operations Center staff speaks English. Due to distances involved, there may be a considerable delay before assistance arrives.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affair's Internet site at http://travel.state.gov, where the current Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts, including the Worldwide Caution Travel Alert, can be found. Up-to-date information on safety and security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada, or for callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll-line at 1-202-501-4444.

Crime: Pervasive and violent crime is an extension of the general state of insecurity in Somalia. Serious, brutal, and often fatal crimes are very common. Kidnapping and robbery are a particular problem in Mogadishu and other areas of the south.

Information for Victims of Crime: The loss or theft abroad of a U.S. passport should be reported immediately to the local police and the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are the victim of a crime while overseas, in addition to reporting to local police, please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate for assistance. The Embassy/Consulate staff can, for example, assist you to find appropriate medical care, contact family members or friends and explain how funds could be transferred. Although the investigation and prosecution of the crime is solely the responsibility of local authorities, consular officers can help you to understand the local criminal justice process and to find an attorney if needed.

Medical Facilities and Health Information: Medical facilities in Somalia are extremely limited. Travelers who insist on ignoring the warnings above should carry personal supplies of medications with them.

Malaria is endemic in many areas. There have been outbreaks of cholera in Mogadishu, Kismayo in the south, and Puntland in the northeast. For additional information on malaria and cholera, including protective measures, see the CDC travelers' health web page at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel.

Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747) or via the CDC's web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad consult the World Health Organization's (WHO) web site at http://www.who.int/en. Further health information for travelers is available at http://www.who.int/ith/en.

Medical Insurance: The Department of State strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and whether it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation. Travelers are strongly encouraged to purchase such insurance prior to traveling to East Africa if not already covered under their current medical plan.

Traffic Safety and Road Conditions: While in a foreign country, U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below concerning Somalia is provided for general reference only, and it may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance.

There are no traffic lights in the country except in Hargeisa in Somaliland. The poor condition of most roads makes driving hazardous. Night driving can be dangerous due to the absence of lighting. Recent occurrences of land mine detonations on roads point to a potentially fatal risk for drivers.

Aviation Safety Oversight: As there is no direct commercial air service between the United States and Somalia, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not assessed Somalia's Civil Aviation Authority for compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aviation safety standards. For more information, travelers may visit the FAA's internet web site at http://www.faa.gov.

Special Circumstances: Water and electricity systems are poor. Functioning telecommunications systems exist in major towns in Somalia.

There is no organized system of criminal justice in Somalia, nor is there any recognized or established authority to administer a uniform application of due process. Enforcement of criminal laws is, therefore, haphazard to nonexistent. Locally established courts operate throughout Somalia under a combination of Somali customary and Islamic Shari'a law, some of which may be hostile towards foreigners.

The Somali shilling is the unit of currency except in Somaliland, which uses the Somaliland shilling. U.S. dollars are accepted everywhere. Credit cards are not accepted in Somalia.

Criminal Penalties: While in a foreign country, a U.S. citizen is subject to that country's laws and regulations, which sometimes differ significantly from those in the United States and may not afford the protections available to the individual under U.S. law. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States for similar offenses. Persons violating laws in Somalia, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested or imprisoned. Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Somalia are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines.

Engaging in sexual conduct with children or using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country is a crime, prosecutable in the United States.

Children's Issues: For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, see the Office of Children's Issues website at http://travel.state.gov/family.

In accordance with Somali customary law, any child whose father is a Somali citizen is also considered to be a Somali citizen. Somali children require their father's permission to leave the country.

Registration and Embassy Locations: There is no U.S. Embassy in Somalia. U.S. citizens who plan to enter Somalia despite the Travel Warning are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department's travel registration web site and to obtain updated information on travel and security within Somalia. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency. Travelers to Somaliland should register with the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti, and travelers to Puntland or southern Somalia should register with the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.

The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti is located at Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti City; telephone (253) 35-39-95. The after-hours telephone number is (253) 35-13-43. The mailing address is Ambassade Americaine, B.P. 185, Djibouti, Republique de Djibouti. The work-week in Djibouti is Sunday through Thursday. The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi is located on United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya; telephone (254)(20) 363-6000; fax (254)(20) 363-6410. In the event of an after-hours emergency, the Embassy duty officer is available at (254)(20) 363-6170. The Embassy's mailing address is P.O. Box 606 Village Market, 00621 Nairobi, Kenya, or mail using U.S. domestic postage may be addressed to Unit 64100, APO AE 09831, USA.

Travel Warning

November 13, 2007

This Travel Warning updates information for U.S. citizens about the security situation in Somalia. This supersedes the Travel Warning of June 5, 2006.

The Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens against all travel to Somalia, including the self-proclaimed “independent Republic of Somaliland.” Inter-clan and inter-factional fighting can flare up with little warning. Kidnapping, murder, and other threats to U.S. citizens and other foreigners can occur unpredictably in many regions. Armed conflict among rival militias has occurred in southern Somalia, particularly in and around Mogadishu, which has resulted in the deaths of numerous Somali nationals.

In December 2006, Ethiopian military forces entered Somalia in support of the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The African Union Mission to Somalia (AMI-SOM) deployed troops to Somalia in March 2007. As of October 2007, both Ethiopian and AMISOM forces remained in Somalia.

Extremist elements and a limited number of al-Qaeda linked operatives continue to maintain a presence in southern Somalia and have launched attacks against high ranking TFG officials and Ethiopian forces. There is no U.S. Embassy or other U.S. diplomatic presence in Somalia. The U.S. government cannot provide services to U.S. citizens in Somalia.

In late 2003 and early 2004, violent and deadly attacks targeted foreigners in the self-declared "Republic of Somaliland" in northern Somalia. The Sanaag and Sool Regions in eastern Somaliland, bordering on Puntland (northeastern Somalia), are subject to insecurity due to recent inter-clan fighting. In past years, there also have been several fatal attacks against international relief workers, including Westerners, throughout Somalia and Somaliland. Serious fighting between armed militia groups and pro-Somali security forces continues in the Mogadishu area and in the districts of Gedo and Bay (especially the vicinity of Baidoa) in the south.

Territorial control in the Mogadishu area is divided among numerous clans and militia groups; lines of control are unclear and frequently shift, making movement within this area extremely hazardous.

U.S. citizens are urged to use extreme caution when sailing near the coast of Somalia. Merchant vessels, fishing boats, and recreational craft all risk seizure by pirates and having their crews held for ransom, especially in the waters off the Horn of Africa. There have been numerous such incidents, highlighting the continuing danger of maritime travel near the Horn of Africa. The international waters near Somalia have become the preferred venue for these pirate attacks. If transit around the Horn of Africa is necessary, it is strongly recommended that vessels travel in convoys and maintain good communications contact at all times.

U.S. citizens who plan to travel to Somalia despite this Travel Warning are urged to register through the State Department's travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov and obtain updated information on travel and security from the U.S. Embassies in neighboring countries. Travelers to the self-declared "Republic of Somaliland" should register with the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti, and travelers to Puntland or southern Somalia should register with the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.

The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti is located at Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti City; telephone (253) 35-39-95; after-hours telephone number (253) 35-13-43. The mailing address is Ambassade Americaine, B.P. 185, Djibouti, Republique de Djibouti, and their workweek is Sunday through Thursday. The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi is located on United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya; telephone (254)(20) 363-6000; after-hours emergencies (254)(20) 363-6170. The mailing address is P.O. Box 606 Village Market 00621, Nairobi, Kenya.

U.S. citizens also should consult the Department of State's Country Specific Information for Somalia, the Worldwide Caution Travel Alert, and the East Africa Travel Alert, which are located on the Department's internet website at http://travel.state.gov. American citizens may obtain up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada, or 202-501-4444 from overseas.

Somalia

Compiled from the October 2006 Background Note and supplemented with additional information from the State Department and the editors of this volume. See the introduction to this set for explanatory notes.

Official Name:
Somalia

NOTE: Somalia has been without a central government since 1991 and much of the territory has been subject to serious civil strife. Statistical data in this report date from 2002 and are subject to dispute and error.

PROFILE

GEOGRAPHY

PEOPLE

HISTORY

GOVERNMENT

POLITICAL CONDITIONS

ECONOMY

DEFENSE

FOREIGN RELATIONS

U.S.-SOMALI RELATIONS

TRAVEL

PROFILE

Geography

Area: 637,657 sq. km.; slightly smaller than Texas.

Cities: Capital—Mogadishu. Other cities—Beledweyne, Kismayo, Baidoa, Jowhar, Merca, Gaalkayo, Bosasso, Hargeisa, Berbera.

Terrain: Mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in the north.

Climate: Principally desert; December to February—northeast monsoon, moderate temperatures in north, and very hot in the south; May to October—southwest monsoon, torrid in the north, and hot in the south; irregular rainfall; hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons.

People

Nationality: Noun—Somali(s). Adjective—Somali.

Population: (2006 est., no census exists) 8.8 million (of which an estimated 2 million in Somaliland).

Annual growth rate: (2006 est.) 2.85%.

Ethnic groups: Somali, with a small non-Somali minority (mostly Bantu and Arabs).

Religion: 99.9% Muslim.

Languages: Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English.

Education: Literacy—total population that can read and write, 37.8%: male 49.7%; female 25.8%.

Health: Infant mortality rate—114.9/1,000 live births. Life expectancy at birth—total population: 48.7 yrs.

Work force: (3.7 million; very few are skilled workers) Pastoral nomad—60%. Agriculture, government, trading, fishing, industry, handicrafts, and other—40%.

Government

Type: None.

Independence: July 1, 1960 (from a merger between the former Somali-land Protectorate under British rule, which became independent from the UK on June 26, 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on July 1, 1960, to form the Somali Republic).

Constitution: None in force.

Note: A Transitional Federal Charter was established in February 2004 and is expected to serve as the basis for a future constitution in Somalia. In August 2004, the Somali Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA) was established as part of the IGAD-led Somalia National Reconciliation Conference in accordance with the Charter. The Somalia National Reconciliation Conference concluded following the election of a Transitional President in October 2004.

Government branches: Executive—Somalia has had no functioning national government since the collapse of the regime of Maj. Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre in January 1991. The present political situation in much of Somalia is marked by inter-clan fighting and the lack of security, with some areas of relative peace and stability. On October 10, 2004, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was elected Transitional Federal President of Somalia for a five-year period. A Prime Minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi was approved by the Transitional Federal Assembly on December 24, 2004. A cabinet, known as the Council of Ministers, also exists. Legislative—parliamentary (Transitional Federal Assembly, established in August 2004. Shariff Hassan Sheikh Adan was elected Speaker of the Assembly in September 2004.) Judicial—Supreme Court: not functioning; no nationwide system; Islamic (shari’a) and traditional courts based on customary practices in some localities.

Political parties: None functioning. Legal system: none functioning. Note: In 1991, a congress drawn from the inhabitants of the former Somali-land Protectorate declared withdrawal from the 1960 union with Somalia to form the self-declared Republic of Somaliland. Somaliland has not received international recognition, but has maintained a de jure separate status since that time. Its form of government is republican, with a bicameral legislature including an elected elders chamber and a house of representatives. The judiciary is independent, and various political parties exist. In line with the Somaliland Constitution, Vice President Dahir Riyale Kahin assumed the presidency following the death of former president Mohamed Ibrahim Egal in 2002. Kahin was elected President of Somaliland in elections determined to be free and fair by international observers in May 2003. Elections for the 84-member lower house of parliament took place on September 29, 2005 and were described as transparent and credible by international observers.

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (no nationwide elections).

Political subdivisions: 18 regions (plural—NA; singular—Gobolka). Awdal, Bakool, Banaadir, Bari, Bay, Galguduud, Gedo, Hiraan, Jubbada Dhexe, Jubbada Hoose, Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag, Shabeellaha Dhexe, Shabeellah Hoose, Sool, Togdheer, Woqooyi Galbeed.

Budget: N/A.

Defense: N/A.

National holiday: July 1 (June 26 in Somaliland).

Economy

GDP: (2005 est.) U.S. $4.809 billion

Annual growth rate: (2005 est.) 2.4%.

Per capita GDP: (2005 est.) $600

Avg. inflation rate: N/A

Natural resources: Largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, uranium, copper, and salt; likely petroleum and natural gas reserves.

Agriculture: Products—livestock, fish, bananas, corn, sorghum, sugar. Arable land—13%, of which 2% is cultivated.

Industry: Types—Telecommunications, livestock, fishing, textiles, transportation, and limited financial services. Somalia’s surprisingly innovative private sector has continued to function despite the lack of a functioning central government since 1991.

Trade: Exports—$241 million (f.o.b., 2004 est.) livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal, scrap metal. Major markets—United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Oman. Imports—$576 million (f.o.b., 2004 est.) food grains, animal and vegetable oils, petroleum products, construction materials, manufactured products, qat. Major suppliers—Djibouti, Kenya, Brazil, India, United Arab Emirates, Oman.

Aid disbursed: (2002) $271.6 million. Primary donors—United States, European Union, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.

Remittances: (2005 est.) $800 million to $1 billion.

GEOGRAPHY

Somalia is located on the east coast of Africa on and north of the Equator and, with Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Kenya, is often referred to as the Horn of Africa. It comprises Italy’s former Trust Territory of Somalia and the former British Protectorate of Somaliland (now seeking recognition as an independent state). The coastline extends 2,720 kilometers (1,700 mi.).

The northern part of the country is hilly, and in many places the altitude ranges between 900 and 2,100 meters (3,000 ft.-7,000 ft.) above sea level. The central and southern areas are flat, with an average altitude of less than 180 meters (600 ft.). The Juba and the Shabelle Rivers rise in Ethiopia and flow south across the country toward the Indian Ocean. The Sha-belle, however, does not reach the sea.

Major climatic factors are a year-round hot climate, seasonal monsoon winds, and irregular rainfall with recurring droughts. Mean daily maximum temperatures range from 30°C to 40°C (85o F-105°F), except at higher elevations and along the east coast. Mean daily minimums usually vary from about 15°C to 30°C (60°F-85°F). The southwest monsoon, a sea breeze, makes the period from about May to October the mildest season in Somalia. The December-February period of the northeast monsoon also is relatively mild, although prevailing climatic conditions in Somalia are rarely pleasant. The “tangambili” periods that intervene between the two monsoons (October-November and March-May) are hot and humid.

PEOPLE

The Cushitic populations of the Somali Coast in the Horn of Africa have an ancient history. Known by ancient Arabs as the Berberi, archaeological evidence indicates their presence in the Horn of Africa by A.D. 100 and possibly earlier. As early as the seventh century A.D., the indigenous Cushitic peoples began to mingle with Arab and Persian traders who had settled along the coast. Interaction over the centuries led to the emergence of a Somali culture bound by common traditions, a single language, and the Islamic faith.

Today, about 60% of all Somalis are nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoral-ists who raise cattle, camels, sheep, and goats. About 25% of the population are settled farmers who live mainly in the fertile agricultural zone between the Juba and Shabelle Rivers in southern Somalia. The remainder of the population (15%-20%) is urban.

Sizable ethnic groups in the country include Bantu agricultural workers, several thousand Arabs and some hundreds of Indians and Pakistanis. Nearly all inhabitants speak the Somali language, which remained unwritten until October 1973, when the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) proclaimed it the nation’s official language and decreed an orthography using Latin letters. Somali is now the language of instruction in schools, although Arabic, English, and Italian also are used extensively.

HISTORY

Early history traces the development of the Somali state to an Arab sultanate, which was founded in the seventh century A.D. by Koreishite immigrants from Yemen. During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese

traders landed in present Somali territory and ruled several coastal towns. The sultan of Oman and Zanzibar subsequently took control of these towns and their surrounding territory.

Somalia’s modern history began in the late 19th century, when various European powers began to trade and establish themselves in the area. The British East India Company’s desire for unrestricted harbor facilities led to the conclusion of treaties with the sultan of Tajura as early as 1840. It was not until 1886, however, that the British gained control over northern Somalia through treaties with various Somali chiefs who were guaranteed British protection. British objectives centered on safeguarding trade links to the east and securing local sources of food and provisions for its coaling station in Aden. The boundary between Ethiopia and British Somaliland was established in 1897 through treaty negotiations between British negotiators and King Menelik.

During the first two decades of this century, British rule was challenged through persistent attacks by a dervish rebellion led by Mohamed Abdullah, known as the “Mad Mullah” by the British. A long series of intermittent engagements and truces ended in 1920 when British warplanes bombed Abdullah’s stronghold at Taleex. Although Abdullah was defeated as much by rival Somali factions as by British forces, he was lauded as a popular hero and stands as a major figure of national identity to many Somalis.

In 1885, Italy obtained commercial advantages in the area from the sultan of Zanzibar and in 1889 concluded agreements with the sultans of Obbia and Aluula, who placed their territories under Italy’s protection. Between 1897 and 1908, Italy made agreements with the Ethiopians and the British that marked out the boundaries of Italian Somaliland. The Italian Government assumed direct administration, giving the territory colonial status. Italian occupation gradually extended inland. In 1924, the Jubaland Province of Kenya, including the town and port of Kismayo, was ceded to Italy by the United Kingdom. The subjugation and occupation of the independent sultanates of Obbia and Mijertein, begun in 1925, were completed in 1927. In the late 1920s, Italian and Somali influence expanded into the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia. Continuing incursions climaxed in 1935 when Italian forces launched an offensive that led to the capture of Addis Ababa and the Italian annexation of Ethiopia in 1936.

Following Italy’s declaration of war on the United Kingdom in June 1940, Italian troops overran British Somaliland and drove out the British garrison. In 1941, British forces began operations against the Italian East African Empire and quickly brought the greater part of Italian Somaliland under British control. From 1941 to 1950, while Somalia was under British military administration, transition toward self-government was begun through the establishment of local courts, planning committees, and the Protectorate Advisory Council. In 1948 Britain turned the Ogaden and neighboring Somali territories over to Ethiopia.

In Article 23 of the 1947 peace treaty, Italy renounced all rights and titles to Italian Somaliland. In accordance with treaty stipulations, on September 15, 1948, the Four Powers referred the question of disposal of former Italian colonies to the UN General Assembly. On November 21, 1949, the General Assembly adopted a resolution recommending that Italian Somaliland be placed under an international trusteeship system for 10 years, with Italy as the administering authority, followed by independence for Italian Somaliland. In 1959, at the request of the Somali Government, the UN General Assembly advanced the date of independence from December 2 to July 1, 1960.

Meanwhile, rapid progress toward self-government was being made in British Somaliland. Elections for the Legislative Assembly were held in February 1960, and one of the first acts of the new legislature was to request that the United Kingdom grant the area independence so that it could be united with Italian Somaliland when the latter became independent. The protectorate became independent on June 26, 1960; five days later, on July 1, it joined Italian Somaliland to form the Somali Republic.

In June 1961, Somalia adopted its first national constitution in a countrywide referendum, which provided for a democratic state with a parliamentary form of government based on European models. During the early post-independence period, political parties were a fluid concept, with one-person political parties forming before an election, only to defect to the winning party following the election. A constitutional conference in Mogadishu in April 1960, which made the system of government in the southern Somali trust territory the basis for the future government structure of the Somali Republic, resulted in the concentration of political power in the former Italian Somalia capital of Mogadishu and a southern-dominated central government, with most key government positions occupied by southern Somalis, producing increased disenchantment with the union in the former British-controlled north. Pan-Somali nationalism, with the goal of uniting the Somali-populated regions of French Somaliland (Djibouti), Kenya and Ethiopia into a Greater Somalia, remained the driving political ideology in the initial post-independence period. Under the leadership of Mohamed Ibrahim Egal (prime minister from 1967 to 1969), however, Somalia renounced its claims to the Somali-populated regions of Ethiopia and Kenya, greatly improving its relations with both countries. Egal attempted a similar approach with Ethiopia, but the move towards reconciliation with Ethiopia, which had been a traditional enemy of Somalia since the 16th century, made many Somalis furious, including the army. Egal’s reconciliation effort toward Ethiopia is argued to be one of the principal factors that provoked a bloodless coup on October 21, 1969 and subsequent installation of Maj. Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre as president, bringing an abrupt end to the process of party-based constitutional democracy in Somalia.

Following the coup, executive and legislative power was vested in the 20-member Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC), headed by Barre. The SRC pursued a course of “scientific socialism” that reflected both ideological and economic dependence on the Soviet Union. The government instituted a national security service, centralized control over information, and initiated a number of grassroots development projects. Barre reduced political freedoms and used military force to seize and redistribute rich farmlands in the interriverine areas of southern Somalia, relying on the use of force and terror against the Somali population to consolidate his political power base.

The SRC became increasingly radical in foreign affairs, and in 1974, Somalia and the Soviet Union concluded a treaty of friendship and cooperation. As early as 1972, tensions began increasing along the Somali-Ethiopian border; these tensions heightened after the accession to power in Ethiopia in 1973 of the Mengistu Haile Mariam regime, which turned increasingly toward the Soviet Union. In the mid-1970s, the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) began guerrilla operations in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. Following the overthrow of the Ethiopian Emperor in 1975, Somalia invaded Ethiopia in 1977 in a second attempt to regain the Ogaden, and the second attempt initially appeared to be in Somalia’s favor. The SNA moved quickly toward Harer, Jijiga, and Dire Dawa, the principal cities of the region. However, following the Ethiopian revolution, the new Ethiopian government shifted its alliance from the West to the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union supplied Ethiopia with 10,000-15,000 Cuban troops and Soviet military advisors during the 1977-78 Ogaden war, shifting the advantage to Ethiopia and resulting in Somalia’s defeat. In November 1977, Barre expelled all Soviet advisers and abrogated the friendship agreement with the U.S.S.R. In March 1978, Somali forces retreated into Somalia; however, the WSLF continued to carry out sporadic but greatly reduced guerrilla activity in the Ogaden. Such activities also were subsequently undertaken by another dissident group, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).

Following the 1977-1978 Ogaden war, desperate to find a strong external alliance to replace the Soviet Union, Somalia abandoned its Socialist ideology and turned to the West for international support, military equipment, and economic aid. In 1978, the United States reopened the U.S. Agency for International Development mission in Somalia. Two years later, an agreement was concluded that gave U.S. forces access to military facilities at the port of Berbera in northwestern Somalia. In the summer of 1982, Ethiopian forces invaded Somalia along the central border, and the United States provided two emergency airlifts to help Somalia defend its territorial integrity. From 1982 to 1988, the United States viewed Somalia as a partner in defense in the context of the Cold War. Somali officers of the National Armed Forces were trained in U.S. military schools in civilian as well as military subjects.

Following the Ogaden war, the Barre regime violently suppressed opposition movements and ethnic groups, particularly the Isaaq clan in the northern region, using the military and elite security forces to quash any hint of rebellion. By the 1980s, an allout civil war developed in Somalia. Opposition groups began to form following the end of the Ogaden war, beginning in 1979 with a group of dissatisfied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF). In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre regime, the Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre regime. In January 1989, the United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Mohamed Farah “Aideed,” a former political prisoner imprisoned by Barre from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other opposition groups, including the SNM and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Ogadeen sub-clan force under Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. In 1988, at the President’s order, aircraft from the Somali National Air Force bombed the city of Hargeisa in northwestern Somalia, the former capital of British Somali-land, killing nearly 10,000 civilians and insurgents. The warfare in the northwest sped up the decay already evident elsewhere in the republic. Economic crisis, brought on by the cost of anti-insurgency activities, caused further hardship as Siad Barre and his cronies looted the national treasury.

By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM forces advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed opposition factions drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew.

After the attack on the United States of September 11, 2001, Somalia gained greater international attention as a possible entrepot for international terrorism—a concern that became the primary element in U.S. policy toward Somalia. The United States and other members of the anti-terrorism coalition examined a variety of short- and long-term measures designed to address the threat of terrorism in and emanating from Somalia. The United Nations also took an increased interest in Somalia, including proposals for an increased UN presence and for strengthening a 1992 arms embargo. While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government.

GOVERNMENT

Somalia has no national government at present; however, a two-year reconciliation process led by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) concluded in 2004 following the formation of a transitional government, the components of which are known as the Somalia Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs). The TFIs include a transitional parliament, known as the Transitional Federal Assembly (formed in August 2004), as well as a Transitional Federal Government (TFG) that includes a transitional President, Prime Minister and a cabinet known as the “Council of Ministers.” For administrative purposes, Somalia is divided into 18 regions; the nature, authority, and structure of regional governments vary, where they exist.

Principal Government Officials

Last Updated: 11/22/2006

President: Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed

Prime Minister: Ali Mohamed GEDI

Dep. Prime Min.: ABDULLAHI SHEIKH Ismail

Min. of Agriculture: Abdulkadir Nur ARALE

Min. of Air & Land Transport: Muhammad Ibrahim HABSADE

Min. of Commerce: Abdullahi Ahmed AFRAH

Min. of Constitutional Affairs: ABDULLAHI SHEIKH Ismail

Min. of Defense: Bare Adan Shire BARRE HIRALE

Min. of Demobilization & Militia Training: MOHAMMED BOTAN Harankunah

Min. of Education: Abdirahman ABDI WAARE

Min. of Energy: ABDULLAHI Yusuf Mohammed

Min. of Environment: Muhammad Mahamud HAYD

Min. of Finance: Hasan Mohammed Nur SHATIGADUD

Min. of Fisheries & Marine Resources: HASSAN ABSHIR Farah

Min. of Foreign Affairs: Ismail Mohammed Hurreh BUBA

Min. of Health: ABDI AZIZ Sheikh Yusuf

Min. of Higher Education: HUSSEN MOHAMUD Sheikh Hussen

Min. of Industry: Muhammad Abdullahi KAAMIL

Min. of Information: Ali Ahmed Jama JANGALI

Min. of Interior: Hussein Mohammed Farah AIDEED

Min. of Justice: Sheikh Adan Mohamed Noor ADAN MADOBE

Min. of Labor: Salah ALI FARAH

Min. of Livestock & Animal Husbandry: SALIM ALIYOW Ibrow

Min. of Minerals & Water Resources: Mahamud SALAD NUR

Min. of National Security: Abdullahi Abdi GARUUN

Min. of Petrol & Electric Power: Yusuf Ahmed Mohammed HARARE

Min. of Planning: Husayn Elabe FAHIYE

Min. of Ports & Shipping: Ali ISMAIL ABDI

Min. of Post & Telecommunications: ABDI MOHAMED Tarah

Min. of Public Works & Housing: Muhammad Mahamud GULEED

Min. of Reconciliation: Mahamud ABDULLAHI JAMA

Min. of Reconstruction & Resettlement: SAID HASSAN Shire

Min. of Religious Affairs: Sheikh Hassan ISMAIL BILE

Min. of Sports & Youth Affairs: MOWLID Ma’ane Mahamud

Min. of Tourism & Wildlife: Ali Muhammad MAHAMUD

Min. of Women & Family Affairs: FOZIA MAHAMED Sheikh

Governor, Central Bank: Permanent Representative to the UN, New York: Elmi Ahmed DUALE

The self-declared “Republic of Somaliland” consists of a regional authority based in the city of Hargeisa, including a President, Vice President, parliament, and cabinet officials.

POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Since 1991, there have been fourteen efforts at national reconciliation. Various groupings of Somali factions have sought to control the national territory (or portions thereof) and have fought small wars with one another. Dahir Riyale Kahin was elected President of the self-declared “Republic of Somaliland,” which is made up of the former northwest provinces of the Somali republic, in presidential elections deemed free and fair by international observers in May 2003. In 1998, the area of Punt-land in the northeast declared itself autonomous (although not independent) as the “State of Puntland” with its capital at Garowe. Puntland declared it would remain autonomous until a federated Somalia state was established.

Efforts at mediation of the Somali internal dispute have been undertaken by many regional states. In the mid-1990s, Ethiopia played host to several Somali peace conferences and initiated talks at the Ethiopian city of Sodere, which led to some degree of agreement between competing factions. The Governments of Egypt, Yemen, Kenya, and Italy also have attempted to bring the Somali factions together. In 1997, the Organization of African Unity and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) gave Ethiopia the mandate to pursue Somali reconciliation. In 2000, Djibouti hosted a major reconciliation conference (the 13th such effort), which in August resulted in creation of the Transitional National Government (TNG), whose 3-year mandate expired in August 2003. The absence of a central government in Somalia since 1991 has allowed outside forces to become more influential by supporting various groups and persons in Somalia, particularly Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Egypt, Yemen, and Libya, all of which have supported various Somali factions and transitional governments.

In early 2002, Kenya organized a reconciliation effort under IGAD auspices known as the Somalia National Reconciliation Conference, which concluded in October 2004. In August 2004, the Somali Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA) was established as part of the IGAD-led process, with Shariff Hassan Sheik Adan as its Speaker. Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was elected Transitional Federal President of Somalia on October 10, 2004 and Ali Mohamed Gedi was approved by the Transitional Federal Assembly as Prime Minister on December 24, 2004 as part of the continued formation of a Transitional Federal Government (TFG), the components of which are known as the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs).

ECONOMY

Somalia lacks natural resources and faces major development challenges, and recent economic reverses have left its people increasingly dependent on remittances from abroad. Its economy is pastoral and agricultural, with livestock—principally camels, cattle, sheep, and goats—representing the main form of wealth. Livestock exports in recent years have been severely reduced by periodic bans, ostensibly for concerns of animal health, by Arabian Peninsula states. Drought has also impaired agricultural and livestock production. Because rainfall is scanty and irregular, farming generally is limited to certain coastal districts, areas near Hargeisa, and the Juba and Shabelle River valleys. The agricultural sector of the economy consists mainly of banana plantations located in the south, which has used modern irrigation systems and up-to-date farm machinery.

A small fishing industry exists in the north where tuna, shark, and other warm-water fish are caught, although fishing production is seriously affected by poaching. Aromatic woods—frankincense and myrrh—from a small and diminishing forest also contribute to the country’s exports. Minerals, including uranium and likely deposits of petroleum and natural gas, are found throughout the country, but have not been exploited commercially. Petroleum exploration efforts have ceased due to insecurity and instability. Illegal production in the south of charcoal for export has led to widespread deforestation. With the help of foreign aid, small industries such as textiles, handicrafts, meat processing, and printing are being established.

The absence of central government authority, as well as profiteering from counterfeiting, has rapidly debased Somalia’s currency. By the spring of 2002, the Somali shilling had fallen to over 30,000 shillings to the U.S. dollar. The self-declared Republic of Somaliland issues its own currency, the Somaliland shilling, which is not accepted outside of the self-declared republic.

There are no railways in Somalia; internal transportation is by truck and bus. The national road system nominally comprises 22,100 kilometers (13,702 mi.) of roads that include about 2,600 kilometers (1,612 mi.) of all-weather roads, although most roads have received little maintenance for years and have seriously deteriorated.

Air transportation is provided by small air charter firms and craft used by drug smugglers. A number of airlines operate from Hargeisa. Some private airlines, including Daallo Airlines, serve several domestic locations as well as Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates. The UN and other NGOs operate air service for their missions.

The European Community and the World Bank jointly financed construction of a deepwater port at Mogadishu (currently closed). The Soviet Union improved Somalia’s deepwater port at Berbera in 1969. Facilities at Berbera were further improved by a U.S. military construction program completed in 1985, but they have since become dilapidated. During the 1990s the United States renovated a deepwater port at Kismayo that serves the fertile Juba River basin and is vital to Somalia’s banana export industry. Smaller ports are located at Merca, Brava, and Bossaso. Absence of security and lack of maintenance and improvement are major issues at most Somali ports.

Radiotelephone service is available to both to regional and international locations. The public telecommunications system has been destroyed or dismantled, but cellular phone service is readily available throughout the country. Somalia is linked to the outside world via ship-to-shore communications (INMARSAT) as well as links to overseas satellite operators by private telecommunications operators (including cellular telephone systems) in major towns. Radio broadcasting stations operate at Mogadishu, Hargeisa, and Galkaiyo, with programs in Somali and some other languages. There are two television broadcast stations in Mogadishu and one in Hargeisa.

DEFENSE

There are no Somali armed forces. Before the collapse of the Siad Barre regime and dissolution of the national armed forces in 1991, the Somali National Army was made up of the army, navy, air force, and air defense command. Various groups throughout Somalia currently control militias ranging in strength from hundreds to thousands. Some groups possess limited inventories of older armored vehicles and other heavy weapons and small arms are prevalent throughout Somalia.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Somalia followed a foreign policy of nonalignment for a brief period following independence. In 1970, the Siad Barre regime declared a national ideology based on scientific Socialism and aligned its foreign policy with the Soviet Union and China. In the 1980s, Somalia shifted its alignment to the West following a territorial conflict with Ethiopia over the disputed Somali-populated region of the Ogaden from 1977-78, which was supported by the Soviet Union. The central government also sought ties with many Arab countries, and continued to receive financial and military support from several Arab countries prior to its collapse in 1991. Five countries, including Saudi Arabia, Libya and Egypt, extended recognition to the now-defunct Transitional National Government and continue to provide assistance to Somalia.

The status of expatriate Somalis has been an important foreign and domestic issue. The Somali-populated region of the Horn of Africa stretches from the Gulf of Tadjoura in modern-day Djibouti through Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, and down to the coastal regions of southern Kenya. Unlike many countries in Africa, the Somali nation extends beyond its national borders. Since gaining independence in 1960, the goal of Somali nationalism, also known as Pan-Somalism, has been the unification of all Somali populations, forming a Greater Somalia. This issue has been a major cause of past crises between Somalia and its neighbors—Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti.

In 1963, Somalia severed diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom for a period following a dispute over Kenya’s northeastern region (Northern Frontier District), an area inhabited mainly by Somalis. Related problems have arisen from the boundary with Ethiopia and the large-scale migrations of Somali nomads between Ethiopia and Somalia. In the aftermath of the 1977-78 Somali-Ethiopian War, the Government of Somalia continued to call for self-determination for ethnic Somalis living in the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia. At the March 1983 Non-aligned Movement summit in New Delhi, President Siad Barre stated that Somalia harbored no expansionist aims and was willing to negotiate with Ethiopia over the disputed Ogaden region.

Since the fall of the Barre regime, the foreign policy of the various entities in Somalia has centered on gaining international recognition, winning international support for national reconciliation, and obtaining international economic assistance.

U.S.-SOMALI RELATIONS

Although the U.S. never formally severed diplomatic relations with Somalia, official relations were interrupted by the fall of the government and have not been fully reestablished in the continued absence of a national government. The United States maintains informal contacts with a number of entities in Somalia.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

NAIROBI (E) Address: United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, Nairobi; APO/FPO: Unit 64100, APO AE 09831; Phone: 254-20-363-6000; Fax: 254-20-363-6157; INMARSAT Tel: 683-142-148; Workweek: Monday-Thursday, 0715-1630; Friday, 0715-1215; Website: www.usembassy.state.gov.

Last Updated: 1/22/2007

TRAVEL

Consular Information Sheet : May 30, 2006

Country Description: Somalia has had no central government since the onset of civil war in 1991, and the United States has no official representation in Somalia. A transitional governing entity, known as the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), was created in October 2004, but has yet to establish authority throughout much of Somalia. In 1991, the northwest part of the country proclaimed itself the Republic of Somaliland, and it now has its own regional governing authority; however, Somaliland has not received international recognition as an independent state. The northeastern section of Somalia, known as the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, has also made efforts to establish a regional governing authority. Somalia’s economy was seriously damaged by the civil war and its aftermath, but the private sector is trying to reemerge. Tourist facilities are non-existent.

Entry/Exit Requirements: A passport is required for travel to Somali-land and Puntland. Both regions require a visa and issue their own at their respective ports of entry. For travel to other parts of Somalia, including Mogadishu, a passport is required; however, there is no established governing authority capable of issuing a universally recognized visa. Air and seaports are under the control of local authorities that make varying determinations of what is required of travelers who attempt to use these ports of entry.

Travelers may obtain the latest information on visas as well as any additional details regarding entry requirements from the Permanent Representative of the Somali Republic to the United Nations, telephone (212) 688-9410/5046; fax (212) 759-0651, located at 425 East 61st Street, Suite 702, New York, N.Y. 10021. Persons outside the United States may attempt to contact the nearest Somali embassy or consulate. All such establishments, where they exist, are affiliated with the Transitional Federal Government, whose authority is not established throughout Somalia.

Safety and Security: Since the U.S. does not have an Embassy or any other diplomatic presence in any part of Somalia, including Somaliland and Puntland, the U.S. government cannot provide services to U.S. citizens in Somalia. Limited American Citizen Services are available for travelers to Somalia at the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi and Djibouti.

Somaliland has experienced a level of stability that has not been present in other parts of Somalia. However, travelers should always check current conditions in Somaliland before traveling. Terrorist attacks occurred against international relief workers, including Westerners, throughout Somalia and Somaliland in late 2003 through early 2004, which resulted in a number of murders. In early 2006 an American citizen working in southern Somalia was kidnapped and held for ransom. Additionally, there have been threats against Westerners in Somalia, including Somaliland. All visitors are urged to restrict their movements in the region. Persons traveling to or through this area should also be aware that incidents such as armed banditry, road assaults, kidnappings for ransom, and detonations of anti-personal and-vehicle land mines regularly occur. Sporadic outbreaks of civil unrest persist in the rest of the country, including in Mogadishu where there has been periodic heavy factional fighting.

Cross-border violence occurs periodically. The area near Somalia’s border with Kenya has been the site of numerous incidents of violent criminal activity, including kidnappings and grenade attacks on hostels used by international aid workers. U.S. citizens who decide to visit the area should be aware that they could encounter such criminal activity.

Americans considering seaborne travel around Somalia’s coastal waters should exercise extreme caution, given numerous recent incidents of vessel hijacking and/or piracy. In 2005 there were numerous acts and attempted acts of piracy in Somalia’s coastal waters, especially off of the Horn of Africa. Seaborne travelers should exercise extreme caution, as these groups have proven themselves well armed and dangerous. When transiting in and around the Horn of Africa and/or in the Red Sea, it is strongly recommended that vessels convoy in groups and maintain good communications contact at all times. Marine channels 13 and 16 VHF-FM are international call-up and emergency channels and are commonly monitored by ships at sea. 2182 Mhz is the HF international call-up and emergency channel. In the Gulf of Aden, transit routes farther offshore reduce, but do not eliminate, the risk of contact with suspected assailants. Wherever possible, travel in trafficked sea-lanes. Avoid loitering in or transiting isolated or remote areas. In the event of an attack, consider activating the “Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB).” Vessels may also contact the Yemeni Coast Guard 24-hour Operations Center at (967) 1-562-402. The Operations Center staff speaks English. Due to distances involved, there may be a considerable delay before assistance arrives.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Internet website where the current Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, Travel Warnings and Public Announcements can be found. Up-to-date information on safety and security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S., or for callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll-line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

Crime: Pervasive and violent crime is an extension of the general state of insecurity in Somalia. Serious, brutal, and often fatal crimes are very common. Kidnapping and robbery are a particular problem in Mogadishu and other areas of the south.

Information for Victims of Crime: The loss or theft abroad of a U.S. passport should be reported immediately to the local police and the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are the victim of a crime while overseas, in addition to reporting to local police, please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate for assistance. The Embassy/Consulate staff can, for example, assist you to find appropriate medical care, contact family members or friends and explain how funds could be transferred. Although the investigation and prosecution of the crime is solely the responsibility of local authorities, consular officers can help you to understand the local criminal justice process and to find an attorney if needed.

Medical Facilities and Health Information: Medical facilities in Somalia are extremely limited. Travelers who insist on ignoring the warnings above should carry personal supplies of medications with them. Malaria is endemic in many areas. There have been outbreaks of cholera in Mogadishu, Kismayo in the south, and Puntland in the northeast. For additional information on malaria and cholera, including protective measures, see the CDC Travelers’ Health website at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/.htm.

Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747) or via the CDC’s internet site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad consult the World Health Organization’s (WHO) website at http://www.who.int/en. Further health information for travelers is available at http://www.who.int/ith.

Medical Insurance: The Department of State strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and whether it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation.

Traffic Safety and Road Conditions: While in a foreign country, U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below concerning Somalia is provided for general reference only, and it may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance.

There are no traffic lights in the country except in Hargeisa in Somali-land. The poor condition of most roads makes driving hazardous. Night driving can be dangerous due to the absence of lighting. Recent occurrences of land mine detonations on roads point to a potentially fatal risk for drivers.

Aviation Safety Oversight: As there is no direct commercial air service between the United States and Somalia, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not assessed Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority for compliance with ICAO international aviation safety standards. For more information, travelers may visit the FAA’s Internet website at http://www.faa.gov/safety/programs_initiatives/oversight/iasa/. There is limited commercial air travel to Hargeisa, Mogadishu, Galcayo, and Bosasso from Addis Ababa, Nairobi, and Dubai. The United Nations has daily humanitarian flights from Nairobi to Somalia; the European Commission’s humanitarian flights recently were resumed after a period of suspension pending financial restructuring of the providing airline.

Special Circumstances: Water and electricity systems are poor. Functioning telecommunications systems exist in major towns in Somalia.

There is no organized system of criminal justice in Somalia, nor is there any recognized or established authority to administer a uniform application of due process. Enforcement of criminal laws is, therefore, haphazard to nonexistent. Locally established courts operate throughout Somalia under a combination of Somali customary and Islamic Shari’a law, some of which may be hostile towards foreigners.

The Somali shilling is the unit of currency except in Somaliland, which uses the Somaliland shilling. U.S. dollars are accepted everywhere. Credit cards are not accepted in Somalia.

Criminal Penalties: While in a foreign country, a U.S. citizen is subject to that country’s laws and regulations, which sometimes differ significantly from those in the United States and may not afford the protections available to the individual under U.S. law. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States for similar offenses. Persons violating laws in Somalia, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested or imprisoned. Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Somalia are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines. Engaging in sexual conduct with children or using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country is a crime, prosecutable in the United States.

Children’s Issues: In accordance with Somali customary law, any child whose father is a Somali citizen is also considered to be a Somali citizen. Somali children require their father’s permission to leave the country. For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, see the Office of Children’s website at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Registration/Embassy Location: There is no U.S. Embassy in Somalia. U.S. citizens who plan to enter Somalia despite the Travel Warning are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department’s travel registration website, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within Somalia.

Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency. Travelers to Somaliland should register with the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti, and travelers to Puntland or southern Somalia should register with the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.

The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti is located at Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti City; telephone (253) 35-39-95. The after-hours telephone number is (253) 35-13-43. The mailing address is Ambassade Americaine, B.P. 185, Djibouti, Republique de Djibouti. The workweek in Djibouti is Sunday through Thursday.

The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi is located on United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya; telephone (254)(20) 363-6000; fax (254)(20) 363-6410. In the event of an after-hours emergency, the Embassy duty officer is available at (254)(20) 363-6170. The Embassy’s mailing address is P.O. Box 606 Village Market, 00621 Nairobi, Kenya, or mail using U.S. domestic postage may be addressed to Unit 64100, APO AE 09831, USA.

Travel Warning : June 5, 2006

This Travel Warning is being issued to remind Americans of continued concerns about the security situation in Somalia. This supersedes the Travel Warning of July 21, 2005.

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens against all travel to Somalia, including the self-proclaimed “independent Republic of Somaliland.” Inter-clan and inter-factional fighting can flare up with little warning, and kidnapping, murder, and other threats to U.S. citizens and other foreigners can occur unpredictably in many regions.

Armed conflict among rival militias has occurred in Southern Somalia, particularly in and around Mogadishu, which has resulted in the deaths of dozens of Somali nationals. There is no U.S. Embassy or other U.S. diplomatic presence in Somalia.

In late 2003 and early 2004 there were attacks against foreigners in the self-declared “Republic of Somali-land” in northern Somalia. The Sanaag and Sool Regions in eastern Somaliland, bordering on Puntland (northeastern Somalia), are subject to insecurity due to potential inter-clan fighting. In past years, there also have been several fatal attacks against international relief workers, including Westerners, throughout Somalia and Somaliland. In addition, serious fighting has occurred in the Mogadishu area and the districts of Gedo and Bay (especially the vicinity of Baidoa) in the south.

Territorial control in the Mogadishu area is divided among numerous groups; lines of control are unclear and frequently shift, making movement within this area extremely hazardous. U.S. citizens are urged to use extreme caution when sailing near the coast of Somalia. Merchant vessels, fishing boats and recreational craft all risk seizure by pirates and having their crews held for ransom, especially in the waters off the Horn of Africa.

There have been numerous such incidents, highlighting the continuing danger of maritime travel near the Horn of Africa. The international waters near Somalia have become the preferred venue for these pirate attacks. If transit around the Horn of Africa is necessary, it is strongly recommended that vessels travel in convoys, and maintain good communications contact at all times.

The U.S. government cannot provide services to U.S. citizens in Somalia. U.S. citizens who plan to travel to Somalia despite this Travel Warning are urged to register through the State Department’s travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov and obtain updated information on travel and security from the U.S. Embassies in neighboring countries.

Travelers to the self-declared “Republic of Somaliland” should register with the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti, and travelers to Puntland or southern Somalia should register with the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.

The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti is located at Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti City; telephone (253) 35-39-95; after-hours telephone number (253) 35-13-43. The mailing address is Ambassade Americaine, B.P. 185, Djibouti, Republique de Djibouti, and their workweek is Sunday through Thursday. The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi is located on United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya; telephone (254)(20) 363-6000; after-hours emergencies (254)(20) 363-6170. The mailing address is P.O. Box 606 Village Market 00621, Nairobi, Kenya.

U.S. citizens should also consult the Department of State’s Consular Information Sheet for Somalia, the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, and the East Africa Public Announcement, which are located on the Department’s internet website at http://travel.state.gov.

American citizens may obtain up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada, or 202-501-4444 from overseas.

SOMALIA

Compiled from the January 2005 Background Note and supplemented with additional information from the State Department and the editors of this volume. See the introduction to this set for explanatory notes.

Official Name:
Somalia

NOTE: Somalia has been without a central government since 1991 and much of the territory has been subject to serious civil strife. Statistical data in this report date from 2002 and are subject to dispute and error.

PROFILE

Geography

Area: 637,657 sq. km.; slightly smaller than Texas.

Cities: Capital—Mogadishu. Other cities—Hargeisa, Berbera, Merca, Kismayo, Bosasso, Baidoa.

Terrain: Mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in the north.

Climate: Principally desert; December to February—northeast monsoon, moderate temperatures in north, and very hot in the south; May to October—southwest monsoon, torrid in the north, and hot in the south; irregular rainfall; hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons.

People

Nationality: Noun—Somali(s). Adjective—Somali.

Population: (July 2001 est., no census exists) 7,488,773 (of which an estimated 2-3 million in Somaliland).

Annual growth rate: (2001 est.) 3.48%.

Ethnic groups: 85% Somali, 15% non-Somali (Bantu and Arabs).

Religions: 99.9% Muslim.

Languages: Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English.

Education: Literacy—total population that can read and write, 24%: male 36%; female 14%.

Health: Infant mortality rate—123.97/1,000 live births. Life expectancy at birth—total population: 46.6 yrs.

Work force: (3.7 million; very few are skilled workers) Pastoral nomad—60%. Agriculture, government, trading, fishing, industry, handicrafts, and other—40%.

Government

Type: None.

Independence: July 1, 1960 (from a merger of the former Somaliland Protectorate under British rule, which became independent from the UK on June 26, 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on July 1, 1960 to form the Somali Republic).

Constitution: None in force. Note: A Transitional Federal Charter was established in February 2004 and is expected to serve as the basis for a future constitution in Somalia. In August 2004, the Somali Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA) was established as part of the IGAD-led Somalia National Reconciliation Conference in accordance with the Charter. The Somalia National Reconciliation Conference concluded following the election of a Transitional President in October 2004.

Branches: Executive—Somalia has had no functioning national government since the United Somali Congress (USC) ousted the regime of Maj. Gen. Mohamed Siad "Barre" in January 1991. The present political situation in much of Somalia is marked by inter-clan fighting and random banditry, with some areas of peace and stability. On October 10, 2004, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was elected Transitional Federal President of Somalia for a five-year period. Legislative—parliamentary (Transitional Federal Assembly, established in August 2004. On November 3, 2004, Ali Mohamed Gedi was appointed Prime Minister of Somalia; Ghedi was voted out of office on December 11, 2004, but was re-nominated in the following week and approved by the Transitional Federal Assembly on December 24, 2004.) Judicial—Supreme Court: not functioning; no nationwide system; Islamic (Shari'ah) and secular courts in some localities.

Political parties: None functioning. Legal system: none functioning.

Note: In 1991 a congress drawn from the inhabitants of the former Somaliland Protectorate declared withdrawal from the 1960 union with Somalia to form the self-declared Republic of Somaliland. Somaliland has not received international recognition, but has maintained a de facto separate status since that time. Its form of government is republican, with a bicameral legislature including an elected elders chamber and a house of representatives. The judiciary is independent, and various political parties exist. In line with the Somaliland Constitution, Vice President Dahir Riyale Kahin assumed the presidency following the death of former president Mohamed Ibrahim Egal in 2002. Kahin was elected President of Somaliland in elections determined to be free and fair by international observers in May 2003. Parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place on March 29, 2005.

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (no nationwide elections).

Administrative subdivisions: 18 regions (plural—NA; singular—Gobolka). Awdal, Bakool, Banaadir, Bari, Bay, Galguduud, Gedo, Hiraan, Jubbada Dhexe, Jubbada Hoose, Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag, Shabeellaha Dhexe, Shabeellah Hoose, Sool, Togdheer, Woqooyi Galbeed.

Central government budget: N/A.

Defense: N/A.

National holiday: July 1 (June 26 in Somaliland).

Economy

GNP: N/A.

Annual growth rate: N/A.

Per capita income: N/A.

Avg. inflation rate: N/A.

Natural resources: Largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, uranium, copper, and salt; likely petroleum and natural gas reserves.

Agriculture: Products—livestock, bananas, corn, sorghum, sugar. Arable land—13%, of which 2% is cultivated.

Industry: Types—sugar, textiles, packaging, oil refining. Most industry defunct since 1991.

Trade: (1999) Exports—$110 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) livestock, bananas, hides and skins, sugar, sorghum, corn. Major markets—Saudi Arabia, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Italy, Pakistan. Imports—$314 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) food grains, animal and vegetable oils, petroleum products, construction materials. Major suppliers—Djibouti, Kenya, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, India.

Aid disbursed: (2002) $174.4 million. Primary donors—European Union, United States, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, World Bank. U.S. aid—$29.6 million.

GEOGRAPHY

Somalia is located on the east coast of Africa on and north of the Equator and, with Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti, is often referred to as the Horn of Africa. It comprises Italy's former Trust Territory of Somalia and the former British Protectorate of Somaliland (now seeking recognition as an independent state). The coastline extends 2,720 kilometers (1,700 mi.).

The northern part of the country is hilly, and in many places the altitude ranges between 900 and 2,100 meters (3,000 ft.-7,000 ft.) above sea level. The central and southern areas are flat, with an average altitude of less than 180 meters (600 ft.). The Juba and the Shabelle Rivers rise in Ethiopia and flow south across the country toward the Indian Ocean. The Shabelle, however, does not reach the sea.

Major climatic factors are a yearround hot climate, seasonal monsoon winds, and irregular rainfall with recurring droughts. Mean daily maximum temperatures range from 30ºC to 40ºC (85ºF-105ºF), except at higher elevations and along the east coast. Mean daily minimums usually vary from about 15ºC to 30ºC (60ºF-85ºF). The southwest monsoon, a sea breeze, makes the period from about May to October the mildest season at Mogadishu. The December-February period of the northeast monsoon also is relatively mild, although prevailing climatic conditions in Mogadishu are rarely pleasant. The "tangambili" periods that intervene between the two monsoons (October-November and March-May) are hot and humid.

PEOPLE

The Cushitic populations of the Somali Coast in the Horn of Africa have an ancient history. Known by ancient Arabs as the Berberi, archaeological evidence indicates their presence in the Horn of Africa by A.D. 100 and possibly earlier. As early as the seventh century A.D., the indigenous Cushitic peoples began to mingle with Arab and Persian traders who had settled along the coast. Interaction over the centuries led to the emergence of a Somali culture bound by common traditions, a single language, and the Islamic faith.

Today, about 60% of all Somalis are nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists who raise cattle, camels, sheep, and goats. About 25% of the population are settled farmers who live mainly in the fertile agricultural zone between the Juba and Shabelle Rivers in southern Somalia. The remainder of the population (15%-20%) is urban.

Sizable ethnic groups in the country include Bantu agricultural workers, several thousand Arabs and some hundreds of Indians and Pakistanis. Nearly all inhabitants speak the Somali language, which remained unwritten until October 1973, when the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) proclaimed it the nation's official language and decreed an orthography using Latin letters. Somali is now the language of instruction in schools, to the extent that these exist. Arabic, English, and Italian also are used extensively.

HISTORY

Early history traces the development of the Somali state to an Arab sultanate, which was founded in the seventh century A.D. by Koreishite immigrants from Yemen. During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese traders landed in present Somali territory and ruled several coastal towns. The sultan of Oman and Zanzibar subsequently took control of these towns and their surrounding territory.

Somalia's modern history began in the late 19th century, when various European powers began to trade and establish themselves in the area. The British East India Company's desire for unrestricted harbor facilities led

to the conclusion of treaties with the sultan of Tajura as early as 1840. It was not until 1886, however, that the British gained control over northern Somalia through treaties with various Somali chiefs who were guaranteed British protection. British objectives centered on safeguarding trade links to the east and securing local sources of food and provisions for its coaling station in Aden. The boundary between Ethiopia and British Somaliland was established in 1897 through treaty negotiations between British negotiators and King Menelik.

During the first two decades of this century, British rule was challenged through persistent attacks by a dervish rebellion led by Mohamed Abdullah, known as the "Mad Mullah" by the British. A long series of intermittent engagements and truces ended in 1920 when British warplanes bombed Abdullah's stronghold at Taleex. Although Abdullah was defeated as much by rival Somali factions as by British forces, he was lauded as a popular hero and stands as a major figure of national identity to many Somalis.

In 1885, Italy obtained commercial advantages in the area from the sultan of Zanzibar and in 1889 concluded agreements with the sultans of Obbia and Aluula, who placed their territories under Italy's protection. Between 1897 and 1908, Italy made agreements with the Ethiopians and the British that marked out the boundaries of Italian Somaliland. The Italian Government assumed direct administration, giving the territory colonial status.

Italian occupation gradually extended inland. In 1924, the Jubaland Province of Kenya, including the town and port of Kismayo, was ceded to Italy by the United Kingdom. The subjugation and occupation of the independent sultanates of Obbia and Mijertein, begun in 1925, were completed in 1927. In the late 1920s, Italian and Somali influence expanded into the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia. Continuing incursions climaxed in 1935 when Italian forces launched an offensive that led to the capture of Addis Ababa and the Italian annexation of Ethiopia in 1936.

Following Italy's declaration of war on the United Kingdom in June 1940, Italian troops overran British Somaliland and drove out the British garrison. In 1941, British forces began operations against the Italian East African Empire and quickly brought the greater part of Italian Somaliland under British control. From 1941 to 1950, while Somalia was under British military administration, transition toward self-government was begun through the establishment of local courts, planning committees, and the Protectorate Advisory Council. In 1948 Britain turned the Ogaden and neighboring Somali territories over to Ethiopia.

In Article 23 of the 1947 peace treaty, Italy renounced all rights and titles to Italian Somaliland. In accordance with treaty stipulations, on September 15, 1948, the Four Powers referred the question of disposal of former Italian colonies to the UN General Assembly. On November 21, 1949, the General Assembly adopted a resolution recommending that Italian Somaliland be placed under an international trusteeship system for 10 years, with Italy as the administering authority, followed by independence for Italian Somaliland. In 1959, at the request of the Somali Government, the UN General Assembly advanced the date of independence from December 2 to July 1, 1960.

Meanwhile, rapid progress toward self-government was being made in British Somaliland. Elections for the Legislative Assembly were held in February 1960, and one of the first acts of the new legislature was to request that the United Kingdom grant the area independence so that it could be united with Italian Somaliland when the latter became independent. The protectorate became independent on June 26, 1960; five days later, on July 1, it joined Italian Somaliland to form the Somali Republic.

In June 1961, Somalia adopted its first national constitution in a countrywide referendum, which provided for a democratic state with a parliamentary form of government based on European models. During the early post-independence period, political parties were a fluid concept, with one-person political parties forming before an election, only to defect to the winning party following the election. A constitutional conference in Mogadishu in April 1960, which made the system of government in the southern Somali trust territory the basis for the future government structure of the Somali Republic, resulted in the concentration of political power in the former Italian Somalia capital of Mogadishu and a southern-dominated central government, with most key government positions occupied by southern Somalis, producing increased disenchantment with the union in the former British-controlled north. Pan-Somali nationalism, with the goal of uniting the Somali-populated regions of French Somaliland (Djibouti), Kenya and Ethiopia into a Greater Somalia, remained the driving political ideology in the initial post-independence period. Under the leadership of Mohamed Ibrahim Egal, prime minister from 1967 to 1969, Somalia renounced its claims to the Somalipopulated regions of Ethiopia and Kenya, greatly improving its relations with both countries. Egal attempted a similar approach with Ethiopia, but the move towards reconciliation with Ethiopia, which had been a traditional enemy of Somalia since the 16th century, made many Somalis furious, including the army. Egal's reconciliation effort toward Ethiopia is argued to be one of the principal factors that provoked the military officers, led by Maj. Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre, to stage a bloodless coup on October 21, 1969, bringing an abrupt end to the process of party-based constitutional democracy in Somalia.

Following the coup, executive and legislative power was vested in the 20member Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC), headed by Maj. Gen. Siad Barre as president. The SRC pursued a course of "scientific socialism" that reflected both ideological and economic dependence on the Soviet Union. The government instituted a national security service, centralized control over information, and initiated a number of grassroots development projects. Barre reduced political freedoms and used military force to seize and redistribute rich farmlands in the interriverine areas of southern Somalia, relying on the use of force and terror against the Somali population to consolidate his political power base.

The SRC became increasingly radical in foreign affairs, and in 1974, Somalia and the Soviet Union concluded a treaty of friendship and cooperation. As early as 1972, tensions began increasing along the Somali-Ethiopian border; these tensions heightened after the accession to power in Ethiopia in 1973 of the Mengistu Haile Mariam regime, which turned increasingly toward the Soviet Union. In the mid-1970s, the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) began guerrilla operations in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. Following the overthrow of the Ethiopian Emperor in 1975, Somalia invaded Ethiopia in 1977 in a second attempt to regain the Ogaden, and the second attempt initially appeared to be in Somalia's favor. The SNA moved quickly toward Harer, Jijiga, and Dire Dawa, the principal cities of the region. However, following the Ethiopian revolution, the new Ethiopian government shifted its alliance from the West to the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union supplied Ethiopia with 10,000 – 15,000 Cuban troops and Soviet military advisors during the 1977-78 Ogaden war, shifting the advantage to Ethiopia and resulting in Somalia's defeat. In November 1977, Barre expelled all Soviet advisers and abrogated the friendship agreement with the U.S.S.R. In March 1978, Somali forces retreated into Somalia; however, the WSLF continues to carry out sporadic but greatly reduced guerrilla activity in the Ogaden. Such activities also were subsequently undertaken by another dissident group, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).

Following the 1977-1978 Ogaden war, desperate to find a strong external alliance to replace the Soviet Union, Somalia abandoned its Socialist ideology and turned to the West for international support, military equipment, and economic aid. In 1978, the United States reopened the U.S. Agency for International Development mission in Somalia. Two years later, an agreement was concluded that gave U.S. forces access to military facilities in Somalia. In the summer of 1982, Ethiopian forces invaded Somalia along the central border, and the United States provided two emergency airlifts to help Somalia defend its territorial integrity.

From 1982 to 1988 the United States viewed Somalia as a partner in defense in the context of the Cold War. Somali officers of the National Armed Forces were trained in U.S. military schools in civilian as well as military subjects. Paranoid and weakened following the Ogaden war, the Barre regime violently suppressed opposition movements and ethnic groups, particularly the Issaq clan in the northern region, using the military and elite security forces to quash any hint of rebellion. By the 1980s, an all-out civil war developed in Somalia. Opposition groups began to form following the end of the Ogaden war, beginning in 1979 with a group of dissatisfied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF). In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre regime, the Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Issaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre regime. In 1988, at the President's order, aircraft from the Somali National Air Force bombed the city of Hargeisa in northwestern Somalia, the former capital of British Somaliland, killing nearly 100,000 civilians and insurgents. The warfare in the northwest sped up the decay already evident elsewhere in the republic. Economic crisis, brought on by the cost of anti-insurgency activities, caused further hardship as Siad Barre and his cronies looted the national treasury.

By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre's government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre's effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu known as the Benadir, earning Barre the title "Mayor of Mogadishu" and resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM forces advanced toward Mogadishu. Barre began to lose control over his own militia groups and became increasingly isolated. In January 1991, armed opposition factions drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew.

The prevailing chaos in much of Somalia after 1991 contributed to growing influence by various radical Islamic groups, including al-Tabliq and Al-Ittihad Al-Islami (Islamic Unity). These groups, which are among the main non-clan-based forces in Somalia, share the goal of establishing a fundamentalist Islamic state. While each organization differs in its approach, Al-Ittihad supports the use of violence to achieve that goal and has claimed responsibility for terrorist acts in the region. In the mid-1990s, Al-Ittihad came to dominate territory in Puntland as well as central Somalia near Gedo. It was forcibly expelled from these localities by Puntland forces as well as Ethiopian attacks in the Gedo region. Since that time, Al-Ittihad has adopted a longer-term strategy based on integration into local communities and establishment of Islamic schools, courts, and relief centers.

After the attack on the United States of September 11, 2001, Somalia gained greater international attention as a possible base for terrorism—a concern that became the primary element in U.S. policy toward Somalia. The United States and other members of the anti-terrorism coalition examined a variety of short- and long-term measures designed to cope with the threat of terrorism in and emanating from Somalia. The United Nations also took an increased interest in Somalia, including proposals for an increased UN presence and for strengthening a 1992 arms embargo.

GOVERNMENT

Somalia has no national government at present; however, a two-year reconciliation process led by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) concluded in October 2004 following the formation of a transitional parliament, known as the Transitional Federal Assembly, in August 2004 and the election of a Transitional President in October 2004. The formation of transitional governing institutions, known as the Transitional Federal Government, is currently ongoing. For administrative purposes, Somalia is divided into 18 regions; the nature, authority, and structure of regional governments vary, where they exist.

Principal Government Officials

Last Updated: 11/21/03

Somalia has lacked any internationally recognized central governmentsince the fall of the Siad Barre regime in 1991. The country is currently controlled by various political and regional factions as well as local warlords in the south and in two "republics" in the north. The former British colony of Somaliland—-consisting of five districts in the northwest—declared independence in 1991, and the northeastern region—-known as Puntland—-declared autonomy in 1998.

President: Abdikassim Salad Hassan
Prime Minister: Hassan Abshir Farah
Min. of Air and Land Transport: Abdiguled Mohammed
Min. of Constitution and Federalism: Ali Abdirahman Hirsi
Min. of Culture and Heritage: Ali Mursale Mohammed
Min. of Defense: Abdiwahab Mohammmed Hussein
Min. of Diaspora and Refugee Affairs: Ahmad Abdullahi Jama
Min. of Disabled and Rehabilitation: Abdiqadir Mohammed Abdulle
Min. of Education: Hussein Mohammed Osman
Min. of Energy: Sayid Warsame Abokor
Min. of Environment: Abubakar Abdik usman
Min. of Finance: Hussein Mahmud Sheikh Hussein
Min. of Foreign Affairs: Yussuf Hassan Ibrahim
Min. of Health: Mohammed Nurani Bakar
Min. of Higher Education: Zakariya Mahmud Haji Abdi
Min. of Industry: Yussuf Ma'alin Amin
Min. of Information: Abdirahman Adan Ibrahim Ibbi
Min. of Internal Affairs and Rural Development: Dahir Sheikh Mohamed
Min. of International Cooperation: Hussein Elabe Fahiye
Min. of Justice and Religious Affairs: Mahmud Umar Farah
Min. of Labor: Abdullahi Mohammed Shirwa
Min. of Livestock and Animal Husbandry: Savid Ahmad Sheikh Dahir
Min. of Local Government: Mohammed Nur Jiley
Min. of Minerals and Water Resources: Ahmad Mohammed Danulle
Min. of Monetary Affairs: Umar Hashi Adan
Min. of Ports and Shipping: Abdiweli Jama Warsame
Min. of Public Works: Mohammed Warsame Ali
Min. of Reconcillation and Conflict Resolution: Mohammed Meydane Burale
Min. of Reconstruction & Resettlement: Abdiqadir Yussuf Mohammed
Min. of Science & Technology: Abdi'aziz Sheikh Mukhtar
Min. of Sports & Youth Affairs: Abdi'aziz Mukhtar Qaridi
Min. of Tourism and Wildlife: Hassan Farah Hujale
Min. of Women's Affairs: Saynab Aweys Hussein

POLITICAL CONDITIONS

In the wake of the collapse of the Somali Government, factions organized around military leaders took control of Somalia. The resulting chaos and loss of life promoted the international intervention led by the United States, UNITAF. That operation was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM), which ended in 1994. Since 1991, there have been fourteen efforts at national reconciliation; to date, none has been successful. Various groupings of Somali factions have sought to control the national territory (or portions thereof) and have fought small wars with one another. Dahir Riyale Kahin was elected President of the self-declared "Republic of Somaliland," which is made up of the former northwest provinces of the Somali republic, in presidential elections deemed free and fair by international observers in May 2003. In 1998, the area of Puntland in the northeast declared itself autonomous (although not independent) as the "State of Puntland" with its capital at Garowe. Puntland declared it would remain autonomous until a federated Somalia state was established.

Efforts at mediation of the Somali internal dispute have been undertaken by many regional states. In the mid-1990s, Ethiopia played host to several Somali peace conferences and initiated talks at the Ethiopian city of Sodere, which led to some degree of agreement between competing factions. The Governments of Egypt, Yemen, Kenya, and Italy also have attempted to bring the Somali factions together. In 1997, the Organization of African Unity and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) gave Ethiopia the mandate to pursue Somali reconciliation. In 2000, Djibouti hosted a major reconciliation conference (the 13th such effort), which in August resulted in creation of the Transitional National Government (TNG), whose 3-year mandate expired in August 2003. In early 2002, Kenya organized a further reconciliation effort under IGAD auspices known as the Somalia National Reconciliation Conference, which concluded in October 2004. In August 2004, the Somali Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA) was established as part of the IGADled process. Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was elected Transitional Federal President of Somalia on October 10, 2004 and Ali Mohamed Gedi was approved by the Transitional Federal Assembly as Prime Minister on December 24, 2004 as part of the continued formation of a Transitional Federal Government (TFG). While a cabinet is expected to be formed in the coming weeks, all officials are currently resident in Nairobi and have not established governing institutions inside Somalia.

The absence of a central government in Somalia since 1991 has allowed outside forces to become more influential by supporting various groups and persons in Somalia. Djibouti, Eritrea, and Arab states supported the now-defunct TNG, which became one faction among many in Somalia. Ethiopia has provided political support to Somaliland and assisted a group of southern warlords organized as the Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), which opposed the TNG.

ECONOMY

Somalia lacks natural resources and faces major development challenges, and recent economic reverses have left its people increasingly dependent on remittances from abroad. Its economy is pastoral and agricultural, with livestock—principally camels, cattle, sheep, and goats—representing the main form of wealth. Livestock exports in recent years have been severely reduced by periodic bans, ostensibly for concerns of animal health, by Arabian Peninsula states. Drought has also impaired agricultural and livestock production. Because rainfall is scanty and irregular, farming generally is limited to certain coastal districts, areas near Hargeisa, and the Juba and Shabelle River valleys. The agricultural sector of the economy consists mainly of banana plantations located in the south, which has used modern irrigation systems and up-to-date farm machinery.

A small fishing industry has begun in the north where tuna, shark, and other warm-water fish are caught, although fishing production is seriously affected by poaching and the lack of ability to grant concessions because of the absence of a generally recognized government. Aromatic woods—frankincense and myrrh—from a small and diminishing forest area also contribute to the country's exports. Minerals, including uranium and likely deposits of petroleum and natural gas, are found throughout the country, but have not been exploited commercially. Petroleum exploration efforts, at one time under way, have ceased due to insecurity and instability. Illegal production in the south of charcoal for export has led to widespread deforestation. With the help of foreign aid, small industries such as textiles, handicrafts, meat processing, and printing are being established.

The absence of central government authority, as well as profiteering from counterfeiting, has rapidly debased Somalia's currency. By the spring of 2002, the Somali shilling emitted by the TNG had fallen to over 30,000 shillings to the U.S. dollar. The selfdeclared Republic of Somaliland issues its own currency, the Somaliland shilling, which is not accepted outside of the self-declared republic.

There are no railways in Somalia; internal transportation is by truck and bus. The national road system nominally comprises 22,100 kilometers (13,702 mi.) of roads that include about 2,600 kilometers (1,612 mi.) of all-weather roads, although most roads have received little maintenance for years and have seriously deteriorated.

Air transportation is provided by small air charter firms and craft used by drug smugglers. A number of airlines operate from Hargeisa. Some private airlines, including Air Somalia and Daallo Airlines, serve several domestic locations as well as Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates. The UN and other NGOs operate air service for their missions.

The European Community and the World Bank jointly financed construction of a deepwater port at Mogadishu (currently closed). The Soviet Union improved Somalia's deepwater port at Berbera in 1969. Facilities at Berbera were further improved by a U.S. military construction program completed in 1985, but they have become dilapidated. During the 1990s the United States renovated a deepwater port at Kismayo that serves the fertile Juba River basin and is vital to Somalia's banana export industry. Smaller ports are located at Merca, Brava, and Bossaso. Absence of security and lack of maintenance and improvement are major issues at most Somali ports.

Radiotelephone service is available to both to regional and international locations. The public telecommunications system has been destroyed or dismantled, but cellular phone service is readily available throughout the country. Somalia is linked to the outside world via ship-to-shore communications (INMARSAT) as well as links to overseas satellite operators by private telecommunications operators (including cellular telephone systems) in major towns. Radio broadcasting stations operate at Mogadishu, Hargeisa, and Galkayo, with programs in Somali and some other languages. There are two television broadcast stations in Mogadishu and one in Hargeisa.

DEFENSE

There are no Somali armed forces. Before the collapse of the Siad Barre regime and dissolution of the national armed forces in 1991, the Somali National Army was made up of the army, navy, air force, and air defense command. Various groups and factions throughout Somalia currently control militias ranging in strength from hundreds to thousands. These militias are in general poorly trained and lightly armed, although some groups possess limited inventories of older armored vehicles and other heavy weapons and small arms are prevalent throughout Somalia.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Somalia followed a foreign policy of nonalignment for a brief period following independence. In 1970, the Siad Barre regime declared a national ideology based on scientific Socialism and aligned its foreign policy with the Soviet Union and China. In the 1980s, Somalia shifted its alignment to the West following a territorial conflict with Ethiopia over the disputed Somali-populated region of the Ogaden from 1977-78, which was supported by the Soviet Union. The central government also sought ties with many Arab countries, and continued to receive financial and military support from several Arab countries prior to its collapse in 1991. Five countries, including Saudi Arabia, Libya and Egypt, extended recognition to the now-expired Transitional National Government and continue to provide assistance to Somalia.

The status of expatriate Somalis has been an important foreign and domestic issue. The Somali-populated region of the Horn of Africa stretches from the Gulf of Tadjoura in modern-day Djibouti through Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, and down to the coastal regions of southern Kenya. Unlike many countries in Africa, the Somali nation extends beyond its national borders. Since gaining independence in 1960, the goal of Somali nationalism, also known as Pan-Somalism, has been the unification of all Somali populations, forming a Greater Somalia. This issue has been a major cause of past crises between Somalia and its neighbors—Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti.

In 1963, Somalia severed diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom for a period following a dispute over Kenya's northeastern region (Northern Frontier District), an area inhabited mainly by Somalis. Related problems have arisen from the boundary with Ethiopia and the large-scale migrations of Somali nomads between Ethiopia and Somalia.

In the aftermath of the 1977-78 Somali-Ethiopian war, the Government of Somalia continued to call for self-determination for ethnic Somalis living in the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia. At the March 1983 Nonaligned Movement summit in New Delhi, President Siad Barre stated that Somalia harbored no expansionist aims and was willing to negotiate with Ethiopia over the disputed Ogaden region.

Since the fall of the Barre regime, the foreign policy of the various entities in Somalia has centered on gaining international recognition, winning international support for national reconciliation, and obtaining international economic assistance.

U.S.-SOMALI RELATIONS

Although the U.S. never formally severed diplomatic relations with Somalia, official relations were interrupted by the fall of the government and have not been fully reestablished in the continued absence of a national government. The United States maintains informal contacts with a number of entities in Somalia.

The U.S. Embassy has been closed since 1991. U.S. contacts with Somalia, including consular coverage, are maintained by U.S. Embassy Nairobi, Kenya.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

NAIROBI (E) Address: United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, Nairobi; APO/FPO: Unit 64100, APO AE 09831; Phone: 254-20-363-6000; Fax: 254-20-363-6157; INMARSAT Tel: 683-142-148; Workweek: Monday-Thursday, 0715-1630; Friday, 0715-1215; Website: www.usembassy.state.gov

TRAVEL

Consular Information Sheet

June 25, 2004

Country Description: Somalia is a developing country in the Horn of Africa. It has had no government since the onset of civil war in 1991. That year, the northwest part of the country proclaimed itself the Republic of Somaliland, and it now has its own governing authority, although its economy is linked with the rest of the country. However, Somaliland has not received international recognition as an independent state. The northeastern section of Somalia, which is semiautonomous, is known as Puntland. Somalia's economy was seriously damaged by the civil war and its aftermath, but the private sector is trying to reemerge. Tourism facilities are non-existent. The capital of Somalia is Mogadishu. The principal city of Somaliland is Hargeisa. Other cities and towns of importance include the ports of Bosasso in Puntland, Berbera in Somaliland, and Kismayu in the South, Baidoa, and Garowe.

Entry/Exit Requirements: A passport is required for travel to Somaliland and Puntland. Both regions also require a visa and issue their own, which can be obtained at their respective ports of entry. A passport is required for travel to other parts of Somalia, including Mogadishu, but no visa is required.

Travelers may obtain the latest information on visas as well as any additional details regarding entry requirements from the Permanent Representative of the Somali Republic to the United Nations, telephone (212) 688-9410. Persons outside the United States should contact the nearest Somali embassy or consulate. All such establishments, where they exist, are affiliated with the Transitional National Government based in Mogadishu, whose authority expired in August 2003 and is not widely accepted throughout Somalia, including the Somaliland and Puntland administrations.

In an effort to prevent international child abduction, many governments have initiated procedures at entry/exit points. These often include requiring documentary evidence of relationship and permission for the child's travel from the parent(s) or legal guardian not present. Having such documentation on hand, even if not required, may facilitate entry/departure.

Safety and Security: Since the U.S. does not have an Embassy or any other diplomatic presence in Somalia, the U.S. government cannot provide services to U.S. citizens in Somalia.

Somaliland has experienced a level of stability that has not been present in other parts of Somalia. However, travelers should always check current conditions in Somaliland before traveling. There were several fatal attacks against international relief workers, including Westerners, throughout Somalia and Somaliland in late 2003 and early 2004. Additionally, there have been recent threats against Westerners in Somalia, including Somaliland, and all visitors are urged to restrict their movements in the region. Persons traveling to or through this area should also be aware that incidents such as armed banditry and road assaults may occur. Civil unrest persists in the rest of the country.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov where the current Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, Travel Warnings and Public Announcements can be found. Up to date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S., or, for callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-317-472-2328. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

Crime: With the exception of Somaliland, crime is an extension of the general state of insecurity. Serious and violent crimes are very common. Kidnapping and robbery are a particular problem in Mogadishu and other areas of the south.

The loss or theft abroad of a U.S. passport should be reported immediately to the local police and the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are the victim of a crime while overseas, in addition to reporting to local police, please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate for assistance. The Embassy/Consulate staff can, for example, assist you to find appropriate medical care, to contact family members or friends and explain how funds could be transferred. Although the investigation and prosecution of the crime is solely the responsibility of local authorities, consular officers can help you to understand the local criminal justice process and to find an attorney if needed.

U.S. citizens may refer to the Department of State's pamphlet A Safe Trip Abroad for ways to promote a troublefree journey. The pamphlet is available by mail from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, via the Internet at http://www.gpoaccess.gov, or via the Bureau of Consular Affairs home page at http://travel.state.gov.

Medical Facilities: Medical facilities in Somalia are extremely limited. Travelers should carry personal supplies of medications with them.

Medical Insurance: The Department of State strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and whether it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation. U.S. medical insurance plans seldom cover health costs incurred outside the United States unless supplemental coverage is purchased. Further, U.S. Medicare and Medicaid programs do not provide payment for medical services outside the United States. However, many travel agents and private companies offer insurance plans that will cover health care expenses incurred overseas including emergency services such as medical evacuations.

When making a decision regarding health insurance, Americans should consider that many foreign doctors and hospitals require payment in cash prior to providing service and that a medical evacuation to the U.S. may cost well in excess of $50,000. Uninsured travelers who require medical care overseas often face extreme difficulties. When consulting with your insurer prior to your trip, ascertain whether payment will be made to the overseas healthcare provider or whether you will be reimbursed later for expenses you incur. Some insurance policies also include coverage for psychiatric treatment and for disposition of remains in the event of death.

Useful information on medical emergencies abroad, including overseas insurance programs, is provided in the Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs brochure, Medical Information for Americans Traveling Abroad, available via the Bureau of Consular Affairs home page.

Other Health Information: Malaria is endemic in many areas. There have been outbreaks of cholera in Mogadishu, Kismayo in the south, and Puntland in the northeast.

Travelers to Somalia should take malaria prophylaxis. P. falciparum malaria, the serious and sometimes fatal strain in Somalia, is resistant to the anti-malarial drug chloroquine. Because travelers to Somalia are at high risk for contracting malaria, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises that travelers should take one of the following antimalarial drugs: mefloquine (Lariam TM), doxycycline, or atovaquone/proguanil (Malarone TM). The CDC has determined that a traveler who is on an appropriate antimalarial drug has a greatly reduced chance of contracting the disease. In addition, other personal protective measures, such as the use of insect repellents, help to reduce malaria risk. Travelers who become ill with a fever or flu-like illness while traveling in a malariarisk area and up to one year after returning home should seek prompt medical attention and tell the physician their travel history and what antimalarials they have been taking. For additional information on malaria, protection from insect bites, and antimalarial drugs, please visit the CDC Travelers' Health web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/malinfo.htm.

Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747); fax 1-888-CDC-FAXX (1-888-232-3299), or via the CDC's Internet site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad consult the World Health Organization's website at http://www.who.int/en. Further health information for travelers is available at http://www.who.int/ith.

Traffic Safety and Road Conditions: While in a foreign country, U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below concerning Somalia is provided for general reference only, and it may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance:

Safety of Public Transportation: Poor
Urban Road Conditions/Maintenance: Poor
Rural Road Conditions/Maintenance: Poor
Availability of Roadside Assistance: None

There are no traffic lights in the country except in Hargeisa in Somaliland. The poor condition of most roads makes driving difficult. Night driving can be dangerous due to the absence of lighting.

Air Travel: There is limited commercial air travel to Hargeisa, Mogadishu, Galcayo, and Bosasso from Addis Ababa, Nairobi, and Dubai. The United Nations and the European Commission have daily humanitarian flights from Nairobi to Somalia.

As there is no direct commercial air service between the U.S. and Somalia by local carriers at present, or economic authority to operate such service, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not assessed Somalia's compliance with international aviation safety standards.

For further information, travelers may contact the U.S. Department of Transportation within the United States at tel. 1-800-322-7873, or visit the FAA Internet website at http://www.faa.gov/avr/iasa/index.cfm.

Infrastructure: Water and electricity systems are poor. A functioning telecommunications system exists in major towns in Somalia.

Criminal Penalties: There is no organized system of criminal justice in Somalia nor uniform application of due process. Enforcement of criminal laws is haphazard.

Under the PROTECT Act of April 2003, it is a crime, prosecutable in the U.S., for U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens to exploit children sexually via pornography, the Internet or other means or to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a person under the age of 18 in a foreign country, regardless of whether there was intent.

Currency Issues: The Somali shilling is the unit of currency except in Somaliland, which uses the Somaliland shilling. U.S. dollars are accepted everywhere. Credit cards are not accepted in Somalia.

Children/Family Issues: In accordance with the Somali law, any child whose father is a Somali citizen is also considered to be a Somali citizen. Somali children require their father's permission to leave the country.

For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, please refer to our Internet site at http://travel.state.gov/children's_issues.html or telephone Overseas Citizens Services at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-317-472-2328.

Registration/Embassy Locations: There is no U.S. Embassy in Somalia. U.S. citizens who plan to enter Somalia despite the Travel Warning are urged to register and obtain updated information on travel and security from Embassies in neighboring countries. Travelers to the self-declared "Republic of Somaliland" should register with the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti, and travelers to Puntland or southern Somalia should register with the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.

The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti is located at Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti City; telephone (253) 35-39-95. The afterhours telephone number is (253) 35-13-43. The mailing address is Ambassade Americaine, B.P. 185, Djibouti, Republique de Djibouti. The workweek in Djibouti is Sunday through Thursday. The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi is located on United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya; telephone (254)(20) 363-6000; facsimile (254)(20) 363-6410. In the event of an after-hours emergency, the Embassy duty officer may be contacted at (254)(20) 363-6170. The Embassy's mailing address is P.O. Box 606 Village Market, 00621 Nairobi, Kenya or mail using U.S. domestic postage may be addressed to Unit 64100, APO AE 09831, USA.

Travel Warning

December 7, 2004

This Travel Warning is being issued to remind Americans of continued concerns about the security situation in Somalia. This supersedes the Travel Warning of June 7, 2004.

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens against all travel to Somalia, including the self proclaimed "independent Republic of Somaliland". Inter-clan and inter-factional fighting can flare up with little warning, and kidnapping, murder, and other threats to U.S. citizens and other foreigners can occur unpredictably in many regions. There is no U.S. Embassy or other U.S. diplomatic presence in Somalia.

There have been attacks against foreigners in the self-declared "Republic of Somaliland" in northern Somalia. The Sanaag and Sool Regions in eastern Somaliland, bordering on Puntland (northeastern Somalia), are subject to insecurity due to potential inter-clan fighting. There have also been several fatal attacks against international relief workers, including Westerners, throughout Somalia and Somaliland. In addition, serious fighting has occurred in the Mogadishu area, the Puntland region in northern Somalia, and the districts of Gedo and Bay (especially the vicinity of Baidoa) in the south. Territorial control in the Mogadishu area is divided among numerous groups; lines of control are unclear and frequently shift, making movement within this area extremely hazardous.

U.S. citizens are urged to use caution when sailing near the coast of Somalia. Merchant vessels, fishing boats and recreational craft alike risk seizure and their crews being held for ransom, especially in the waters near the Horn of Africa and the Kenyan border.

The U.S. government cannot provide services to U.S. citizens in Somalia. U.S. citizens who plan to travel to Somalia despite this Travel Warning are urged to register and obtain updated information on travel and security from the U.S. Embassies in neighboring countries. Travelers to the self-declared "Republic of Somaliland" should register with the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti, and travelers to Puntland or southern Somalia should register with the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.

The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti is located at Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti City; telephone (253) 35-39-95. The afterhours telephone number is (253) 35-13-43. The mailing address is Ambassade Americaine, B.P. 185, Djibouti, Republique de Djibouti. The workweek in Djibouti is Sunday through Thursday. The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi is located on United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya; telephone (254)(20)363-6000; after-hours emergencies (254)(20)363-6170. The mailing address is P.O. Box 606 Village Market 00621, Nairobi, Kenya.

U.S. citizens should also consult the Department of State's Consular Information Sheet for Somalia, the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, and the East Africa Public Announcement, which are located on the Department's internet website at http://travel.state.gov. American citizens may obtain up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States or 317-472-2328 from overseas.