Somalia

A new year, a new faction agreement. On 3 January, after six weeks of pool-side discussions at the Ethiopian hot-spring resort of Sodere (AC Vol 37 No 25),...

Al Itahad al Islami, Somalia's main Islamist organisation, says that it intends to become a political party, to the unease of the National Executive Council. NEC members have...

Hopes of a reconciliation conference have risen with faction leaders' 8 December announcement that they will set up a 'national coordinating council' as the first stage of a...

Things had to change with the death of General Mohamed Farah Hassan 'Aydeed' on 1 August. The three main faction leaders – all Hawiye – may have begun...

The death on 1 August of General Mohamed Farah Hassan 'Aydeed' has created opportunities but not many for peace. Within a week of the self-proclaimed President's death, his...

Ethiopian forces used tanks and helicopter gunships to attack Islamist militias in three towns in Somalia – Belet-Hawa, Dolo and Lugh – on 8-9 August in an attempt...

Amid heavy fighting and the rise of Islamist militias, General Mohamed Farah 'Aydeed' has changed his mind about Sharia courts. He had previously opposed them, considering them a...

General Mohamed Farah 'Aydeed', one of Somalia's self-proclaimed Presidents, is trying to bolster his legitimacy with banknotes. His son, Hussein Farah, has arrived in London to persuade security...

By capturing Hoddur town in mid-January, General Mohamed Farah Hassan 'Aydeed' put himself back in the game. His forces now threaten Beled Weyne, which they lost in October...