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Click
picture to enlarge
 Somalia's government
collapsed in 1991.
Somalia has been one of Africa's
most troubled nations for nearly 20 years. In 1991, Somalia's
government collapsed. Since then, the country has not had a working
central government. At first, the country split into many different
groups, each controlled by a different warlord. A warlord is
someone who commands a private army. How do you think the
warlords were able to gain so much power in Somalia? The
fighting between these warlords in the years after the government
collapsed killed hundreds of thousands of people.
In the 1990s, the United Nations sent a peacekeeping force to
Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, to try to stop the fighting. During
a battle in 1993, two U.S. helicopters, including the one shown
here flying over Somalia, were shot down. Eighteen U.S. troops
were killed, along with hundreds of Somali fighters, in what
came to be known as the first Battle of Mogadishu. After the
battle, U.N. troops pulled out, and fighting has continued on
and off to this day.
Somalia is an Islamic country. In recent years, these warlords
have been fighting against Islamic leaders. These leaders have
taken power in many parts of the country. Somalia's new president
is one of these Islamic leaders. He is a former teacher, and
he is said to have gotten involved with politics after one of
his students was kidnapped by a local warlord. But his government
is weak and controls only parts of Somalia. What do you think
he can do to help his country?
  
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