322 Scarcity and Surfeit
former Somali president Mohammed Siad Barre was ousted by armed Somali
rebel groups.
The sources of the overall conflict are structural and predate the current
civil war. A central factor of instability is the cumulative impact of armed
conflicts in Somalia. War existed in the Horn of Africa throughout the last
century. Between 1900-1920, Italy and Britain fought against Sayyid
Mohammed Abdulle Hassan, the Dervish or Mad Mullah. In the 1920s to
1930s Somalis fought Italian fascist rule. During the Second World War, Italy
and Britain themselves fought over Somalia. During the 1960s and 1970s
Somalia fought border disputes with Kenya over the northern frontier district
in 1963, and with Ethiopia over Ogaden in 1977-78. Other factors include
political and administrative inefficiencies, corruption, and nepotism practised
by both the former Somali governments and the earlier colonialists. Cold War
competition between the United States and former Soviet Union also con-
tributed greatly to the conflict.
A number of peace and reconciliation efforts have been carried out by the
international community, including interventions led by the United Nations
(UN), the European Commission (EC), and the Djibouti government. Yet
none has taken root. By the eleventh year of the Somali civil war (2001) the
conflict had escalated into a regional conflict with different warring groups
receiving support from different countries including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt,
Kenya and Djibouti, each with its own interests and concerns. External
engagement in the Somalia conflict by regional governments will be explored
later in this chapter.
Historical Context
Historical claims to land and resources by different Somali clans play an
important and sometimes powerful role in current political debates in
Somalia. While interpretation of Somali history is itself a contentious politi-
cal issue, it is important to trace some of the key historical themes and events
that shape contemporary Somalia.
Somalia has a long history of migration, conquest and assimilation, a pat-
tern that was accelerated by the 1991-92 civil wac2 Before Somali pastoral-
ists migrated into the eastern Horn and the inter-riverine regions of southern
Somalia from southern Ethiopia in the 10" century, the Somali interior was
inhabited by Oromos, an agro-pastoral group in neighbouring Kenya and
Ethiopia, as well as by other pastoral tribes and other hunter-gatherer groups.
Predominately fishing peoples such as Brawanese and Swahili settled the
southern coasts, including trading centrer such as Kismayu. Agro-pastoralists
settled in the inter-riverine regions. Most areas beyond the coast and inter-
riverine areas were inhabited by interacting groups of nomadic pastoralists.
The harsh environmental conditions prevailing throughout southern Somalia