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Somalia has been suffering from civil unrest, crime, corruption, violence, and war-stricken poverty, hundreds of thousands of Somali families were forced to migrate due to distressing circumstances in their home country. To understand what we can do to help the refugee crisis of Somalia; we must first understand the history behind the present events.
1991: The dictator Mohammed Siad Barre, who ruled the Somali Democratic Republic since 1969, is forced to flee when the capital of Mogadishu is captured by rival clan militias. The fight between two warring clans ends with thousands of civilians dead or wounded.
1992: Facing global pressure US sends Marines near Mogadishu ahead of a UN peacekeeping force to restore order and safeguard relief supplies (article by The Atlantic). The UN Security Council approves a US-led mission called “Operation restore hope” to try to help the starving country by protecting food shipments from the warlords.
1993: US Army Rangers are killed when Somali militias shoot down two US helicopters in Mogadishu. A heated battle ensues between the resistance and US military resulting in the death and starvation of hundreds of Somalis. This failure results in the formal ending of the US mission next year (March 1994).
1995: UN peacekeepers leave, having failed to achieve their mission.
2000: A cholera outbreak due to unsanitary water kills hundreds of Somalis.
2001: The United Nations declares that it will be pulling its international staff and aid workers from Somalia because of the dangerous fighting conditions and attempts at kidnapping.
2003: An interim government is inaugurated in Kenya, in hopes of putting together a central government.
2004: Tsunami waves from Indonesia’s earthquake kill 300 and displace tens of thousands along the Somali coast.
2005: The transitional government begins to return to Somalia, but there are still bitter divisions among members. Violence ensues upon their return and an assassination attempt is made on the interim Prime Minister.
Food shipments are hijacked off the coast of Somalia by rebel forces. Food aid programs, including the UN’s World Food Program (WFP), are suspended.
2006: The transitional government meets for the first time since 2004 in the town of Baidoa. Deadly fighting breaks out in Mogadishu between warring militias, killing and wounding several.
A militia-backed rival government to the Transitional Federal Government, called the Islamic Courts Union, seizes control of most of southern Somalia and captures Mogadishu from the U.S.-backed warlords.
Thousands of Somalis flee to Kenya to escape drought, famine and fighting. Many went to the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya which has since become the largest refugee camp in the world.
2007: The transitional government regains control, but the threat of the insurgent group Al-Shabab rises. The number of Somali refugees hits one million.
2009: The Al-Shabab onslaught strengthens, which kills hundreds and captures many regions. It even formally declares an alliance with al-Qaeda.
2011: July - UN formally declares famine in three regions of Somalia, which kills almost 260,000. Aid shipments are airlifted to Somalia.
Since 2012
Al-Shabab was defeated in many regions by Kenyan and Ethiopian troops.
Somalia's first formal parliament in more than 20 years was sworn in at Mogadishu in 2012 and several democratic elections have taken place since then. Aid from the UN is more stable now and conditions have improved.Also, the government receives military support from the US.Despite all of this, the threat from Al-Shabab remains a major concern (with several attacks stated by BBC). It has carried out mass killings across Somalia on government buildings, public spaces, and UN compounds. It has also attacked many cities in Kenya and Djibouti, killing several innocent civilians.
Present
About 1 million people are currently internally displaced or living as refugees in mainly Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen, and some in western countries. Grave human rights abuses (as explained by Amnesty International) against civilians continue. Freedom of expression is suppressed; journalists are threatened, subjected to arbitrary arrests, and killed. Assaults against women and girls continue to be high. Not to mention the aftermath of COVID-19 in Somalia.
Tejas Raghuvanshi, Oct 2021
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