US Grants Somalia Major Debt Cancellation

 The Guardian published on 6 November 2024 an article titled "US Cancels $1.1 Bn of Somalia's Debt in 'Historic' Financial Agreement" by Faisal Ali.  

Somalia announced the United States will cancel more than $1.1 billion in outstanding loans, which date back to the Siad Barre government that collapsed in 1991.  This is the largest single component of Somalia's $4.5 billion external debt.

Other Paris Club members also announced this year they are waiving $2 billion of additional debt.  These decisions will allow Somalia to more readily access public financing from international financial institutions.  

Land Conflict in Somalia

 The Rift Valley Institute and the Somalia Stability Fund published a major study in December 2021 titled "Land Conflict in Somalia."

Land conflict in Somalia is shaped by--and has shaped--the historical trajectory of the country.  In particular, the land management and agricultural development policies of the Siad Barre regime continue to influence some of the current dynamics of land conflict in Somalia.

A critical challenge in designing an appropriate framework for land conflict transformation in Somalia is the system of legal pluralism that currently characterizes land governance and management.

Somalia and Somaliland: American Diplomats Recall Oral History

The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training posted a piece titled "Somalia--From Great Hope to Failed State" based on the oral history of five American diplomats dating back to 1960.  Two are former ambassadors, two embassy officers, and one based in Washington during the international intervention in Somalia from 1992 to 1993.  These are the recollections of the officers a number of years after they served in Somalia. 

Somaliland's Forgotten Genocide

The Nation published on 22 October 2018 an article titled "In the Valley of Death: Somaliland's Forgotten Genocide" by Ismail Einashe and Matt Kennard, both investigative journalists.

Between 1987 and 1989, the Siad Barre regime in Somalia massacred an estimated 200,000 members of the Somali Isaaq clan in northwest Somalia. The authors assert that the United States, which was allied with Somalia at the time, turned a blind eye to Siad Barre's abuses.

Critique of Somali Federalism

Pambazuka News published a commentary on 20 February 2014 titled "Myths about Federalism in Somalia" by Mohamud M. Uluso.  A sharp critic of the federalism being pursued in Somalia, the author argues that federalism is a "foreign initiative meant to abort national reconciliation and institutionalize social fragmentation".  Whether you agree or disagree with the kind of federalism underway in Somalia today, I believe the time has passed when it can be blamed on foreigners.