Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Mogadishu (Agenzia Fides) - The death of a alleged member of the terrorist network Al-Qaida at the hands of US armed forces, tensions in the port city of Bosaso, trafficking center for all kinds of merchandise and launching point for pirates living in Bab el Mandeb; an attack on the peace-keeping force of the African Union in Somalia (AMISOM)... : the conflict in Somalia has turned into an international war about which, however, very little is known. Pope Benedict XVI recently made an appeal on behalf of the people of Somalia (see Fides of April 28 and 29, 2008).
Since 1991, with the fall of the Siad Barre regime, Somalia has been living in the midst of chaos. Since then, the country has been divided in three parts. In Somaliland, the northern part that was once a British colony, has declared its independence (although no other nation recognizes it) and lives in a situation of relative stability. Puntland, the central region and where Bosaso is situated, functions with an independent administration, although formally speaking it continues to form a part of Somalia. Puntland is also in a relatively stable condition, although there are tensions regarding the control of trafficking (both legal and illegal) of persons, firearms, and drugs. Somaliland and Puntland are also involved in a border dispute that has caused skirmishes between their military ranks. The rest of the country, formally under the control of the transitional national government in Mogadishu, lives in precarious conditions due to the conflict that is raging between government forces supported by Ethiopian troops and Islamic militants that were gaining power until troops from Addis Ababa arrived. The Ethiopian soldiers were supposed to be substituted by AMISOM, but the pan-African force is weak and has few resources. Of the 8,000 men planned for deployment, only 2,500 (1650 Ugandans and 850 Burundians) have been deployed. In addition, AMISOM, as it is a contingent of Ethiopia (whose army is the most well-prepared among those present in Somalia), has been a target for attacks from the Islamic militants. On May 1, a bomb exploded just as a Ugandan convoy made its way down the road, headed for the Mogadishu airport.
The situation is also being influenced by the “low-key war” being led by United States soldiers against the Islamic terrorist groups that, according to Washington, are hiding out in Somalia, receiving protection from either tribal communities or religious communities, and therefore protected from the any intervention by local forces, which are in fact nonexistent or at best, powerless. Every so often the American armed forces launch air attacks and use missiles against the terrorist leaders detected by intelligence services. Among these, is Aden Hashi Ayro, who died along with 11 others (women and children included) in an attack on his hometown of Dhusamareb, en central Somalia. Ayro, who had been trained in a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan, was thought to be responsible for the murders of several foreigners who were humanitarian aid workers in Somalia. This is the fourth attack led by the United States military against Islamic terrorists in Somalia since 2007. The attack was conducted using missiles launched from US ships that are patrolling Somali waters, where Western naval forces are reinforcing their presence, not only in the war on terrorism but, above all, on piracy, whose bases are located in Puntland.
The piracy and perhaps the illegal trafficking that make Bosaso a strategic central location, have been the cause of conflict that has even involved the bodyguards of Puntland’s Security Minister in the city’s dock facilities. The local press says that the situation in Puntland is becoming increasingly more dangerous due to scrimmages between military reinforcements and local soldiers, as well as for the increase of armed conflict and the rampant spread of piracy. For this reason, an Australian society has suspended its fuel prospects in the area. Both Somaliland and Puntland have granted foreigners contracts for petroleum prospecting. Petroleum and terrorism are the two most sufficient motives in explaining the interest of various foreign powers in Somalia. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 2/5/2008; righe 52, parole 674)
