In 1991, certain political and military leaders in Somalia, wishing to gain exclusive control over the state, mobilized their followers to use terror-wounding, raping, and killing-to expel a vast ...number of Somalis from the capital city of Mogadishu and south-central and southern Somalia. Manipulating clan sentiment, they succeeded in turning ordinary civilians against neighbors, friends, and coworkers. Although this episode of organized communal violence is common knowledge among Somalis, its real nature has not been publicly acknowledged and has been ignored, concealed, or misrepresented in scholarly works and political memoirs-until now. Marshaling a vast amount of source material, including Somali poetry and survivor accounts,Clan Cleansing in Somaliaanalyzes this campaign of clan cleansing against the historical background of a violent and divisive military dictatorship, in the contemporary context of regime collapse, and in relationship to the rampant militia warfare that followed in its wake.Clan Cleansing in Somaliaalso reflects on the relationship between history, truth, and postconflict reconstruction in Somalia. Documenting the organization and intent behind the campaign of clan cleansing, Lidwien Kapteijns traces the emergence of the hate narratives and code words that came to serve as rationales and triggers for the violence. However, it was not clans that killed, she insists, but people who killed in the name of clan. Kapteijns argues that the mutual forgiveness for which politicians often so lightly call is not a feasible proposition as long as the violent acts for which Somalis should forgive each other remain suppressed and undiscussed.Clan Cleansing in Somaliaestablishes that public acknowledgment of the ruinous turn to communal violence is indispensable to social and moral repair, and can provide a gateway for the critical memory work required from Somalis on all sides of this multifaceted conflict.
Mogadishu is a medieval trading city in Somalia, which reached the peak of its prosperity during the 14th and 15th centuries, when it became an important commercial and cultural crossroad between the ...Middle East, India and Eastern Africa. This text describes the incredible and neglected history of the Mogadishu. Rich and rare photographic evidence in the text makes it possible to explore the mosques, ruins, gravestones and residences with their 300-year old beams. The book will be of interest not just to scholars of history and archaeology, but also to anyone concerned by the destruction and decline of the medieval treasures of the first so-called freight village in the Horn of Africa.
The first contribution to Global Flashpoints: A Scarecrow Press Series, Christopher Daniels’ Somali Piracy and Terrorism in the Horn of Africa provides readers with a comprehensive and in-depth ...analysis of the spate of piracy and terrorism plaguing the waters of Somalia and the global threat posed by this activity. Contesting the commonly held perception that the piracy and terrorism occurring in Somalia are two separate and unrelated activities, Daniels reveals how the collapse of the Somali state and the chaos that has ensued created the environment for piracy and terrorism to flourish in combination. He also notes how the failure to restore a functioning central government has allowed both to become dangerous threats not only to the people of Somalia but the entire world. Underscoring Somalia’s dire state, Somali Piracy and Terrorism in the Horn of Africa lays out for readers such significant topics as the reasons behind the collapse of the Somali state and the secession of Somaliland, Puntland, and Jubaland; the rise of internationally-linked terrorist groups, such as Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam; and the dramatic spike in pirate attacks off the Somali coast. Daniels concludes by critiquing the methods that have been used to help alleviate these global security challenges and gives policy recommendations for future consideration. Designed to enhance readers’ grasp of this global flashpoint, this volume includes a timeline, a glossary of terms, biographical entries on key individual and institutional actors in this conflict, and selected primary sources. It is the ideal introduction to students and scholars of international relations, African history and politics, terrorism, and maritime studies.
Describes the operational challenges posed by the urban environment and proposes several recommendations to surmount them.
Urban areas are notorious for complicating operational planning, command, ...control, and the communications that facilitate the three. Frequent interruptions of line of sight due to the prolificacy of man-made structures interfere with radio and global positioning system signals. They often combine with extreme noise, dust, smoke, and light conditions to impede leader control at all echelons. The density of noncombatants and their potentially crucial influence on friendly force success further demand effective employment and synchronization of psychological operations, civil affairs, public affairs, and other resources. Savvy use of existent systems, employing decentralized control procedures, and innovation all have their place in overcoming these inherent limitations in the service of achieving objectives across the spectrum of conflict.
This book explores the history of the Somalia based Al Harakat Al Shabaab from 2005 to 2012, offering the first in-detail history of one of the most important Al-Qaeda affiliates today and the first ...to conquer large territories. It anchors the organization in its local context, describing it as set in the nexus of global and local streams of influence, employing terror strategically, often in order to offset diplomatic and military defeats. Al-Shabaab gained popularity because of its emphasis on justice, and its alignment with Somali nationalism, but still was influenced by global trends within Islamism and jihadism. This book follows Al-Shabaab in all its phases: as an early network, through its membership in the Sharia courts, through its guerrilla wars against the Ethiopians, through its expansion and attempts to govern central Somalia, into the post-2010 phase where it struggles against a superior enemy but still remains an actor to be reckoned with. The book concludes in 2013 and thus gives excellent background the Westgate attack in 2013. A separate chapter tackles the increasing regional influence of Al-Shabaab, tracing the trend back to 2009 when it employed a large number of Kenyans, through the gradual increase of Swahili propaganda, and the wave of terror attacks inside Kenya since Kenya intervened in Somalia In 2011. It also studies Al-Shabaab activities in Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania.
