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Old Cards Reshuffled

Stability in Somalia Can Only Be Achieved through Representative Government

SWP Comment 2007/C 03, 15.02.2007, 5 Pages Research Areas

The military escalation in Somalia over the last several weeks has repercussions that go far beyond this collapsed state in the Horn of Africa. Intervention by the Ethiopian military has helped the interim government to establish itself in Mogadishu for the first time. Its adversary, the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), has been driven back into the south of the country. Fighters of the UIC reintegrated smoothly into their former clan affiliations and militias. In early January 2007, the US Air Force attacked suspected al Qaeda members in southern Somalia. If the conflict develops into a civil war or the former warlords return, Somalia is likely to slide back into the disastrous condition it was in during the 1990s. In order to prevent this, comprehensive dialogue should be initiated - dialogue that integrates the moderate elements of the UIC.