Somalia: U.S.-backed war sharpens humanitarian crisis

Since 2007 U.S. foreign policy has deeply injured Somalia. The U.S.-backed Transitional Federal Government has utilized the African Union Mission to Somalia troops stationed in the capital, Mogadishu, to hold onto power amid the continuing attempts by two popular organizations, al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam, to seize power in this nation in the Horn of Africa.

Recent reports issued by the aid organization Oxfam and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees indicate that as a result of the fighting and the drought that has struck Somalia and the entire East Africa region, growing numbers of people, mainly women and children, are in direct need of shelter, food, water and medicines.

With specific reference to Somalia, it is estimated that at least 1.5 million people have been displaced inside the country. Other hundreds of thousands have fled to neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia.

The AMISOM forces, from Uganda and Burundi, are approximately 5,000 strong and control only areas in Mogadishu. Other African states have refused to dispatch their soldiers to defend the U.S.-backed TFG. In a recent budget proposal, the Obama administration pledged $67 million to support the TFG and AMISOM troops in Somalia.

Drought impacts the Somali economy

Lack of rain and crop failure have caused the loss of a large number of the population’s livestock. Livestock production is the mainstay of the economic life of many people within the central and southern regions of the country.

The interior minister of the TFG, Sheikh Abdulkadir Ali Omar, recently explained to the U.N. Inter-regional Information Network on Sept. 3 that, “I have been in touch with people throughout the regions and the reports we are getting are that the drought is widespread and the situation of the people is very grave, with water shortages the biggest problem for both animals and people.

“Livestock are dying in their thousands, with families losing everything. On the outskirts of most small towns from Gedo [southwest] to Galkayo [northeast], you will now find nomadic families in flimsy shelters looking for help,” the interior minister stated. (IRIN, Sept. 7)

Omar told IRIN that the situation was beyond the TFG’s ability to resolve. He said that the government was appealing to the international community for assistance. “This is bigger than anything we have seen in a long time. I hope our partners will do their utmost to mitigate the suffering of the people.”

In the self-declared state of Galmudug in central Somalia, President Ahmed Ali Hilowle told IRIN by telephone from Gakkayo: “Even camels are dying. It is a disaster.”

Hilowle went on to say: “We had two years of dismal rains and the people are on the verge of dying.” This area of Somalia must have barkads (water catchments) for water “and almost all are dry. We are now trucking water sometimes over 100 kilometers.” He said that one water tanker, with 200 drums, costs $200 and that few people can afford this, or any amount.

Control of resources at root of conflict

The U.S. and other Western countries intervene in and around Somalia both to control the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean as well as to claim concessions for oil exploration and exploitation. A recent controversy has been generated over a 15-page “Memorandum of Understanding,” supposedly written by the U.N. secretary general’s special representative to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, which would give drilling rights for oil off the continental shelf of Somalia, extending the rights for 200 miles, to the Kenyan government, another U.S. client.

Gerald Lemelle, executive director of Africa Action in Washington, D.C., spoke of the Western countries’ aims following the demise of direct colonialism. “Nations such as Norway had to figure out a way to maintain control over African resources, so they use Security Council resolutions, and African proxies such as Kenya (Norway reportedly paid $200 million to Kenya for the agreement),” he said. “At the heart of Western intervention in Somalia, which has been a geopolitical football, is the battle for its oil,” Mr. Lemelle said. (Final Call, Sept. 8)

Human rights activists Sadia Aden and professor Abdi Ismail Samitar, a Somali advocate at the University of Minnesota, agree. Aden told the Final Call that the navies that patrol the waters off Somalia ostensibly to fight piracy are only there to exploit the country’s oil and natural gas reserves.

“Somalis know that these navies did not come to hunt and prosecute pirates but to divide the Somali seas, and to protect their interests as they hope to divide up our resources—not just in the ocean, but also on land,” Aden added.

A Los Angeles Times article published in January 1993, during the U.S. military occupation of Somalia, raised similar issues. “That land, in the opinion of geologists and industry sources, could yield significant amounts of oil and natural gas if the U.S.-led military mission can restore peace to the impoverished East African nation.

“According to documents obtained by The Times, nearly two-thirds of Somalia was allocated to the American oil giants Conoco, Amoco, Chevron and Phillips in the final years before Somalia’s pro-U.S. president, Mohamed Siad Barre, was overthrown and the nation plunged into chaos in January 1991. Industry sources said the companies holding the rights to the most promising concessions are hoping that the [George H. W.] Bush administration’s decision to send U.S. troops to safeguard aid shipments to Somalia will also help protect their multimillion-dollar investments there.” (Los Angeles Times, Jan. 18, 1993)

What was true in 1993 is truer in 2009. U.S. imperialism and its allies are scrambling for resources to maintain their dominant economic and political status in the world. But this interest in Somalia’s resources has not led to any effective assistance program to confront the grave humanitarian crisis caused by the fighting and the drought.

Somalis must unite and fight for the genuine independence and sovereignty of their country. People inside the U.S. must not be tricked into believing that the Pentagon and State Department’s involvement in Somalia is designed to fight terrorism and bring stability to the country and region.

Anti-imperialists and anti-war forces must support the Somali people in their struggle for genuine liberation and economic development.

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