A new regional conflict brews in the Horn of Africa.
By Ed Beavan
AS THE crisis in the Middle East dominates the headlines it is easy to forget there are other regions in the world where tensions are close to boiling point that could easily escalate into full-blown war.
With daily updates on the conflict between Israel and Lebanon on our TV screens, you could be forgiven for not knowing that Somalia, a country situated in the Horn of Africa with a long history of internal strife and instability, is on the brink of war with its neighbour Ethiopia.
The route from independence
Somalia, which borders Ethiopia and Kenya, has a population of around 10 million people and has been blighted by years of civil war, famine and drought leading to the death of a million of its inhabitants.
Somalia became independent from British rule in 1960, but has been without an effective government for almost 15 years after the overthrow of President Siad Barre in 1991. Lawlessness has been rife during that period with rival clans waging war against one another, while in the early 1990s the north-west of the country declared itself the self-proclaimed the state of Somaliland, and has since enjoyed a period of relative stability.
Somalia is almost 99.9 per cent Muslim and the small number of Christians in Somalia have been heavily persecuted with many being killed.
Dr Khataza Gondwe, Advocacy Officer for Sub-Saharan Africa for the Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) Group, is keeping a close eye on the situation in Somalia, and said: “I don’t think Somalia has been forgotten about as there is still the al-Qaeda angle which means it is always on the agenda, but it’s a place people don’t want to get involved in because there is so much lawlessness, and after the failure of the previous American intervention.
“At the moment is it extremely worrying, things are bubbling up and it’s hard to see a solution, as the Islamic Courts have such momentum and object to an EU or UN peace force, while the transitional government is so weak.”
Persecution widespread
Dr Gondwe also explained the horrific situation for Somalian Christians, many of whom have fled to Kenya because of the high levels of persecution. She said: “The situation for Christians is awful, the one thing Somalians agree on is ‘let’s kill Christians’.
“Any Somalian who claims to be a Christian is an apostate, and Christians face serious persecution or death. “ Only recently we heard about three Christians who were shot dead as they came back from an international prayer meeting in Mogadishu. “Meanwhile a Christian family had their house set on fire, with the mother and daughter who survived suffering serious burns.
For full article go to : www.churchnewspaper.com
AS THE crisis in the Middle East dominates the headlines it is easy to forget there are other regions in the world where tensions are close to boiling point that could easily escalate into full-blown war.
With daily updates on the conflict between Israel and Lebanon on our TV screens, you could be forgiven for not knowing that Somalia, a country situated in the Horn of Africa with a long history of internal strife and instability, is on the brink of war with its neighbour Ethiopia.
The route from independence
Somalia, which borders Ethiopia and Kenya, has a population of around 10 million people and has been blighted by years of civil war, famine and drought leading to the death of a million of its inhabitants.
Somalia became independent from British rule in 1960, but has been without an effective government for almost 15 years after the overthrow of President Siad Barre in 1991. Lawlessness has been rife during that period with rival clans waging war against one another, while in the early 1990s the north-west of the country declared itself the self-proclaimed the state of Somaliland, and has since enjoyed a period of relative stability.
Somalia is almost 99.9 per cent Muslim and the small number of Christians in Somalia have been heavily persecuted with many being killed.
Dr Khataza Gondwe, Advocacy Officer for Sub-Saharan Africa for the Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) Group, is keeping a close eye on the situation in Somalia, and said: “I don’t think Somalia has been forgotten about as there is still the al-Qaeda angle which means it is always on the agenda, but it’s a place people don’t want to get involved in because there is so much lawlessness, and after the failure of the previous American intervention.
“At the moment is it extremely worrying, things are bubbling up and it’s hard to see a solution, as the Islamic Courts have such momentum and object to an EU or UN peace force, while the transitional government is so weak.”
Persecution widespread
Dr Gondwe also explained the horrific situation for Somalian Christians, many of whom have fled to Kenya because of the high levels of persecution. She said: “The situation for Christians is awful, the one thing Somalians agree on is ‘let’s kill Christians’.
“Any Somalian who claims to be a Christian is an apostate, and Christians face serious persecution or death. “ Only recently we heard about three Christians who were shot dead as they came back from an international prayer meeting in Mogadishu. “Meanwhile a Christian family had their house set on fire, with the mother and daughter who survived suffering serious burns.
For full article go to : www.churchnewspaper.com
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