Somalia

[dannyday5821]

Im a bit confused about Somalia - as i understand it, vaugley, its divided into north and south... i think. the south isnt too bad but the north is a total mess

but how bad is the place really? i saw some photos online ages ago of a guy who there with some kids teaching english and it all looked good

but at the same time it seems very hard to find proffesional photos of somalia (like from the bbc or something) so i guess it must be dangerous if not even a journalist wants to wonder around! maybe ross kemp should go there next huh? :P

[sandyRoe]

It might be a tad too dangerous even for him.

[maclarencat]

Dont think I would want to go there on holiday

[jno]

"we advise any British citizens to leave"

http://www.fco.gov.uk...aharan-africa/somalia

[Andyvon]

Hi Danny -

Somalia is regarded as a 'failed state' in the fact it has no organised government, military or judiciary. The country is mostly controlled by warlords who control their own private armies and spheres of influence. The general populace have to survive as best they can without a police force or any other organs of state or authority that most people take for granted in other countries. The ordinary people do that by keeping their heads down and making sure they don't upset or cross paths with the local tribal chiefs and warlords. If they do they just get shot and the killers have no fear of being brought to account as there is no police force, army or courts.

Somalia has been like that since 1991 when President Mengistu was ousted. There have been various invasions such as that by the US Marines in 1993 when they got turned back into the sea in no time. Ethiopia has invaded and so has Kenya in retaliation for various attacks and encroachments across the borders.

At the moment the most powerful group in Somalia is al-Shabbab which is an Islamist group allied to al-Qaeda. They have been declared to be a terrorist organisation and they are the ones who kidnapped the French and British nationals from Kenya recently. Many locals now use Somali ports as bases to launch pirate attacks on shipping and other craft in the Indian Ocean. Vessels are boarded then sailed back to Somalia to await ranson payments from the owners (who invariably choose to pay about $5-8 million for each ship as they want their vessels, cargoes and crews back). The crews of private yachts that have been attacked are taken deep into Somalia to await their ransom payments.

The world has basically left Somalia to it's own devices as the problem has proved too complex to tackle. The US invaded and got a very bloody nose (dead Marines dragged through the streets behind pick-up trucks etc) and no one interfers there now.