In March 1992 a major clan war erupted between two neighbouring clan groups of the same clan family in Berbera (the conflict mentioned by Noreen Michael Mariano, above). The conflict was further complicated by the involvement of the recently established national army, composed of ex-combatants but which the majority of the population saw as being […]

The initial euphoria surrounding Somaliland’s independence was shattered by the outbreak of fighting between sub-clans in Burao in January 1992 and in Berbera in March 1992. Many of the people caught up in the fighting had only just arrived in Somaliland, having endured often terrifying and arduous journeys of many weeks as they fled from […]

Compiled by the editors from an original paper byZeynab Mohammed Hassan with additional informationprovided through interviews with Noreen Michael Mariano,Shukri Hariir Ismail and Amina Yusuf Background War affected the north west of Somalia from the early 1980s. The armed struggle against the Siad Barre regime ended in 1991 when the dictator was forced from power […]

The above is an excerpt from one of the most famous peace poems composed by Saado Abdi Amare which she first recited publicly, in the form of a woman crying in protest (baror), in 1994 during the conflict in Somaliland. It expresses the poet’s sadness and surprise at the renewal of conflict when people had […]

Hadaba Deeqay dagaalkanu muxuu ahaa? Degelba degelkuu ku xigay daabcad kula kacyey, Shisheeye haduu is dilo waaba kala durkaa, Marada labadeeda dacal buu dab ii qabsaday. Hadaba Deeqay, dagaalkanu muxuu ahaa? muxuu daankaani daankaa ku diidanyahay? Intaan dacar leefay waabay durduurtayey, Dabaasha anoon aqoon daad I qaadayey, Agoonkii daalanaa dib uga caymadyey, Hooyadii weerku daashaday […]

Editors’ note Within a few months of Mogadishu’s collapse into inter-clan warfare, in 1991, it became clearto many ofthe city’s inhabitants that the fighting was not going to be over soon and they were likely to suffer terrible conse­quences if they remained. But to leave was not an easy undertaking — it required planning, resources, […]

With the defeat of the regime in January 1991 the war between the SNM and the government came to an end. Voluntary repatriation from the camps followed after the declaration of independence by the ex-northern regions of Somalia. For several months ex-refugees returned to ruined towns and villages with no infrastructure, no social services and […]

When the ex-Italian-administered Somalia (the southern region) and the ex-British Somaliland (the northern region) attained independ­ence in 1960 and formed the Somali Republic, new economic opportunities became available because of environmental differences between the two regions. Farming was prevalent in the south since it had the only permanent water sources (the Juba and Shabelle rivers). […]

Before colonisation by European powers trade in Somalia was limited to a few local commodities such as ghee, myrrh, ostrich feathers, livestock and gum arabic, and imported items such as rice, dates and clothes. Writing from the period makes no mention of women’s involvement. However, oral sources suggest that some women, mostly elderly widows, accompanied […]

Amina Mohamoud Warsame Somali women, both in rural and in urban settings, contribute sub­stantially to their country’s subsistence economy. During periodic droughts, famine and conflicts over resources Somali women take active responsibility for the survival of their families. When faced with economic crisis — whether at a personal level or at the wider societal level […]