Somalia - Two Steps Forward, Two Back

by Michael Bear · 2008-10-28 10:48:00 UTC
Topics:

First, the good news.  On Sunday, the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the insurgent / opposition group Alliance for the Reliberation of Somalia signed an agreement in Djibouti, calling for a "cessation of armed confrontation".  (The text of the agreement is here.)

Under the agreement, both parties agreed to an immediate ceasefire, as well as the formation of a joint police force for Mogadishu.  The agreement also stipulates that Ethiopian troops supporting the TFG will begin withdrawing from parts of Mogadishu and Beletwyene by November 21st.

However, it's still a little early to break out the champagne.  First, the Shabaab - perhaps the most extreme of all Somali insurgent groups - have already denounced the agreement.  Second, as Jeffrey Gettleman explained in a New York Times article on Sunday:

"Another problem is that the insurgent group that did sign the agreement is riddled with internal divisions and therefore may no longer have the street credibility to get its fighters to lay down their arms."

Meanwhile, there's no good news on the humanitarian front.  An aid worker was killed in Somalia on Saturday, bringing the total number of aid workers killed so far this year to thirty.

For a harrowing account by a Somali woman of what it was like to flee Mogadishu, please see this recent IRIN article I have to continue for the children's sake.

[Photo from www.emergency.com]

Michael Bear
PREVIOUS STORY:
Settler Company in the West Bank Forced to Move Back to Israel
NEXT STORY:
A letter from Bettina Siegel, "Pink Slime" petition creator

COMMENTS (1)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.