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Somalia – Failed State

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Life in ex-al-Shabab stronghold

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Will the world help or hinder?

Somalia has been without an effective central government since President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991.

Years of fighting between rival warlords and an inability to deal with famine and disease have led to the deaths of up to one million people.

Comprised of a former British protectorate and an Italian colony, Somalia was created in 1960 when the two territories merged. Since then its development has been slow. Relations with neighbours have been soured by its territorial claims on Somali-inhabited areas of Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti.

In 1970 Mr Barre proclaimed a socialist state, paving the way for close relations with the USSR. In 1977, with the help of Soviet arms, Somalia attempted to seize the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, but was defeated thanks to Soviet and Cuban backing for Ethiopia, which had turned Marxist.

In 1991 President Barre was overthrown by opposing clans. But they failed to agree on a replacement and plunged the country into lawlessness and clan warfare.

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At a glance

Scene of Africa's worst humanitarian crisis: aid agencies warn that millions face starvation

No effective government since 1991

Islamist militia and UN-backed transitional government compete for control of country

The self-proclaimed state of Somaliland and the region of Puntland run their own affairs

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

In 2000 clan elders and other senior figures appointed Abdulkassim Salat Hassan president at a conference in Djibouti. A transitional government was set up, with the aim of reconciling warring militias.

But as its mandate drew to a close, the administration had made little progress in uniting the country.

In 2004, after protracted talks in Kenya, the main warlords and politicians signed a deal to set up a new parliament, which later appointed a president.

The fledgling administration, the 14th attempt to establish a government since 1991, has faced a formidable task in bringing reconciliation to a country divided into clan fiefdoms.

Islamist insurgency

Its authority was further compromised in 2006 by the rise of Islamists who gained control of much of the south, including the capital, after their militias kicked out the warlords who had ruled the roost for 15 years.

With the backing of Ethiopian troops, forces loyal to the interim administration seized control from the Islamists at the end of 2006.

Islamist insurgents – including the Al-Shabab group, which later declared allegiance to al-Qaeda and in 2012 announced its merger with the global Islamist terrorist group – fought back against the government and Ethiopian forces, regaining control of most of southern Somalia by late 2008.

Ethiopia pulled its troops out in January 2009. Soon after, Al-Shabab fighters took control of Baidoa, formerly a key stronghold of the transitional government.

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Foreign intervention in Somalia

1992 – UN troops arrive to monitor ceasefire after fighting which followed fall of Siad Barre. US-led task force delivers aid

1993 – UN mission is dealt a fatal blow when US rangers are killed in incident made famous by Hollywood film Black Hawk Down

1995 – UN troops withdraw, leaving warlords to fight on. UN casualties number 150

2006 – Ethiopia sends troops to defend interim government

2007 – African peacekeeping force AMISOM deploys

2011 – Kenya enters Somalia in pursuit of al-Shabab militia

Somalia's parliament met in neighbouring Djibouti in late January and swore in 149 new members from the main opposition movement, the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia.

The parliament also extended the mandate of the transitional federal government for another two years, and installed moderate Islamist Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad as the new president.

However, the government's military position weakened further, and in May 2009 Islamist insurgents launched an attack on Mogadishu, prompting President Ahmad to appeal for help from abroad.

Al-Shabab appears to have consolidated its position as the most powerful insurgent group by driving its main rival, Hizbul Islam, out of the southern port city of Kismayo in October 2009. They made what they called a tactical retreat from Mogadishu in August 2011.

Piracy

The long-standing absence of authority in the country has led to Somali pirates becoming a major threat to international shipping in the area, and has prompted Nato to take the lead in an anti-piracy operation.

In 2011, the plight of the Somali people was exacerbated by the worst drought in six decades, which left millions of people on the verge of starvation and caused tens of thousands to flee to Kenya and Ethiopia in search of food.

After the collapse of the Siad Barre regime in 1991, the north-west part of Somalia unilaterally declared itself the independent Republic of Somaliland. The territory, whose independence is not recognised by international bodies, has enjoyed relative stability.

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Sudan, the largest and one of the most geographically diverse states in Africa, split into two countries in July 2011 after the people of the south voted for independence.

The government of Sudan gave its blessing for an independent South Sudan, where the African people had for decades been struggling against rule by the Arabic north.

However, various outstanding secession issues – especially the question of shared oil revenues and the exact border demarcation – have continued to create tensions between the two successor states.

Sudan has long been beset by conflict. Two rounds of north-south civil war cost the lives of 1.5 million people, and a continuing conflict in the western region of Darfur has driven two million people from their homes and killed more than 200,000.

Sudan's centuries of association with Egypt formally ended in 1956, when joint British-Egyptian rule over the country ended.

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At a glance

Humanitarian crisis: Civil war in Darfur region is seen as “one of the worst nightmares in recent history”

Politics: South Sudan seceded in July 2011 after opting for independence in a referendum

International: President Omar Bashir faces war crimes charges over Darfur

Economy: Oil production and revenues have been rising

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Independence was rapidly overshadowed by unresolved constitutional tensions with the south, which flared up into full-scale civil war that the coup-prone central government was ill-equipped to suppress.

The military-led government of President Jaafar Numeiri agreed to autonomy for the south in 1972, but fighting broke out again in 1983.

After two years of bargaining, the rebels signed a comprehensive peace deal with the government to end the civil war in January 2005.

The accord provided for a high degree of autonomy for the south, and an option for it to secede. South Sudan seceded in July 2011, following a vote.

However, the grievances of the northern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile remain unaddressed, as provisions laid out for them in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement were never fully implemented.

In Darfur, in western Sudan, the United Nations has accused pro-government Arab militias of a campaign of ethnic cleansing against non-Arab locals.

The conflict has strained relations between Sudan and Chad, to the west. Both countries have accused each other of cross-border incursions. There have been fears that the Darfur conflict could lead to a regional war.

Decades of fighting have left South Sudan's infrastructure in tatters. With the return of millions of displaced southerners, there is a pressing need for reconstruction.

The economic dividends of peace could be great. Sudan has large areas of cultivatable land, as well as gold and cotton. Its oil reserves are ripe for further exploitation.

Arabic is the official language and Islam is the state religion, but the large non-Arab, non-Muslim minority has rejected attempts by the government in Khartoum to impose Islamic Sharia law on the country as a whole.

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A mainly desert territory in north-west Africa, Western Sahara is the subject of a decades-long dispute between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario Front.

The territory is phosphate-rich and believed to have offshore oil deposits. Most of it has been under Moroccan control since 1976.

Western Sahara fell under Spanish rule in 1884, becoming a Spanish province in 1934. Nationalism emerged in the 1960s, as nomadic Saharans, or Saharawis, settled in the region.

Polisario was set up on 10 May 1973 and established itself as the sole representative of the Saharan people. Some 100,000 refugees still live in Polisario's camps in Algeria.

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At a glance

Seized by Morocco after Spain and Mauritania withdrew

Polisario Front seeks independence

Morocco only prepared to grant autonomy

Territory rich in phosphates, fisheries and possibly offshore oil

Cease-fire in place since 1991

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Madrid Agreement

In October 1975 the International Court of Justice rejected territorial claims by Morocco and Mauritania. The court recognised the Saharawis' right to self-determination and Spain agreed to organise a referendum.

But in November 1975, Moroccan King Hassan II ordered a “Green March” of over 300,000 Moroccans into the territory. Spain backed down and negotiated a settlement with Morocco and Mauritania, known as the Madrid Agreement.

Signed on 14 November 1975, the deal partitioned the region. Morocco acquired two-thirds in the north and Mauritania the remaining third. Spain agreed to end colonial rule.

Polisario declared the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) on 27 February 1976 and announced its first government on 4 March.

The current SADR president, Mohamed Abdelaziz, was elected Polisario secretary-general in August 1976.

In August 1978, one month after a coup, a new Mauritanian government signed a peace deal with Polisario and renounced all territorial claims.

Morocco moved to occupy areas allocated to Mauritania. Algeria in turn allowed refugees to settle in its southern town of Tindouf, where Polisario still has its main base.

Polisario led a guerrilla war against Moroccan forces until 1991.

Referendum

In April 1991 the UN established Minurso, the United Nations Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara. Its brief was to implement a peace plan outlined in a 1990 Security Council resolution. In September 1991 a UN-brokered ceasefire was declared.

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Key dates

Moroccan settlers head for Western Sahara during the 'Green March'

1884: Spain colonises Western Sahara

1973: Polisario set up

1975: World Court rules people should decide on sovereignty

1975: “Green March”, Spain agrees to hand over to Morocco, Mauritania

1976: Spain withdraws, SADR declared

1979: Morocco annexes Mauritania's share

1976-1991: Guerrilla warfare

1991: Minurso established

1991: Ceasefire declared

1996: UN suspends referendum moves

2001: Baker plan

2007-8: Talks fail to reach resolution

The peace plan provided for a transition period, leading to a referendum in January 1992. Western Saharans would choose between independence and integration with Morocco.

Minurso was to total 1,000 civilian and 1,700 military personnel. Its brief was to monitor the ceasefire, the confinement of warring parties to designated areas and the exchange of prisoners.

While the ceasefire held, the mission was never fully deployed. Nor was the transition period ever completed. A key sticking point was an “identification process”, to decide who was eligible to vote.

Identification was to be based on a census carried out by Spain in 1973. Polisario wanted to rule out Moroccans who settled in Western Sahara after the Green March.

In May 1996 the UN suspended the identification process and recalled most Minurso civilian staff. Military personnel stayed to oversee the truce.

Initial attempts to revive the process foundered over Morocco's worries that a referendum would not serve its interests.

Baker plan

Peace returned to the drawing board when UN special envoy James Baker mediated in talks between Polisario and Morocco in London, Lisbon and Houston in 1997, then in London again in 2000.

Agreements were reached on the release of POWs, a code of conduct for a referendum campaign, UN authority during a transition period – but not on voter eligibility. Further talks were held in Berlin and Geneva in 2000, but again ran into trouble.

In a new bid to break the deadlock, James Baker submitted a “Framework Agreement”, known as the Third Way, in June 2001.

It provided for autonomy for Saharawis under Moroccan sovereignty, a referendum after a four-year transition period, and voting rights for Moroccan settlers resident in Western Sahara for over a year.

This formula was rejected by Polisario and Algeria. Then in July 2003, the UN adopted a compromise resolution proposing that Western Sahara become a semi-autonomous region of Morocco for a transition period of up to five years.

A referendum would then take place on independence, semi-autonomy or integration with Morocco.

This compromise was seen as addressing Moroccan concerns, in a bid to entice it to agree to a referendum.

Impasse

Polisario signalled its readiness to accept, but Morocco rejected the plan, citing security concerns. Envoy James Baker resigned in June 2004 and the UN process remains deadlocked.

Talks resumed between Morocco and the Polisario Front in March 2008 in New York, with Mauritania and Algeria also attending. They made no progress.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought to break the impasse during a visit to North Africa in September, but the pursuit of al-Qaeda networks in Morocco and Algeria took precedence.

In January 2009 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed US diplomat Christopher Ross as his new special envoy to deal with Western Sahara. Mr Ross was once US ambassador to Algeria.

In November 2010, several people were killed in violent clashes between Moroccan security forces and protesters near the capital Laayoune, shortly before UN-mediated talks on the future of the territory were due to open in New York.

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The Kingdom of Morocco is the most westerly of the North African countries known as the Maghreb.

Strategically situated with both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, but with a rugged mountainous interior, it stayed independent for centuries while developing a rich culture blended from Arab, Berber, European and African influences.

Morocco was a French protectorate from 1912 to 1956, when Sultan Mohammed became king. He was succeeded in 1961 by his son, Hassan II, who ruled for 38 years. He played a prominent role in the search for peace in the Middle East, given the large number of Israelis of Moroccan origin, but was criticised for suppressing domestic opposition.

A truth commission set up to investigate human rights violations during Hassan's reign has confirmed nearly 10,000 cases, ranging from death in detention to forced exile.

A former capital, Marrakesh is famed for its architecture

After his death in 1999 Hassan was succeeded by his son, who became King Mohammed VI and was seen as a moderniser. Mohammed VI introduced some economic and social liberalisation, and in 2011 he revised the constitution in response to “Arab Spring”-style protests. However, the monarch still retains considerable power and can veto most government decisions.

Morocco has expressed interest in becoming a member of the European Union, its main trade partner, but there appears to be little enthusiasm for this within the bloc.

To the south, the status of Western Sahara remains unresolved. Morocco annexed the territory in 1975 and a guerrilla war with Algerian-backed pro-independence forces ended in 1991. UN efforts have failed to break the political deadlock.

To the north, a dispute with Spain in 2002 over the tiny island of Perejil revived the issue of the sovereignty of Melilla and Ceuta. The small enclaves on the Mediterranean coast are surrounded by Morocco and have been administered by Madrid for centuries.

Morocco has been given the status of non-Nato ally by Washington, which has praised its support for the US-led war on terror. After deadly suicide bombings in Casablanca in 2003, Morocco launched a crackdown on suspected Islamic militants.

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Poor in natural resources, prone to drought and with little arable land, the Cape Verde islands have won a reputation for achieving political and economic stability.

The former Portuguese colony comprises 10 islands and five islets, all but three of which are mountainous.

During the 20th century severe droughts caused the deaths of 200,000 people and prompted heavy emigration. Today, more people with origins in Cape Verde live outside the country than inside it. The money that they send home brings in much-needed foreign currency.

From the mid-1990s, droughts cut the islands' grain crop by 80%, and in 2002 the government appealed for international food aid after the harvest failed.

Nonetheless, Cape Verde enjoys a per capita income that is higher than that of many continental African nations. It has sought closer economic ties with the US, EU and Portugal.

In 2008 Cape Verde became only the second country after Botswana to be promoted by the United Nations out of the ranks of the 50 least developed countries. In recent years it has seen economic growth averaging 6%, the construction of three international airports and hundreds of kilometres of roads.

Increasing numbers of Europe-bound migrants have been intercepted in Cape Verde's waters

Tourism is on the rise, but there are concerns that it poses a threat to the Cape Verde's rich marine life. It is an important nesting site for loggerhead turtles and humpback whales feed in the islands' waters.

Cape Verde became independent in 1975, a year after its sister colony, Guinea-Bissau, won freedom from Portugal. The two countries planned to unite, but the plan was ditched after a coup in Guinea-Bissau in 1980 strained relations.

In 1991 Cape Verde held its first free presidential elections, which were won by Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro, who replaced the islands' first president, Aristides Pereira.

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It is still unclear which regional countries will contribute to the Ecowas force

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African viewpoint: Coups, a West African disease?

Guinea-Bissau profile

What next for Mali?

West African leaders have agreed to send troops to Mali and Guinea-Bissau following coups in both countries.

The regional grouping Ecowas said after an emergency summit that it expected both countries to organise presidential elections within the next 12 months.

Between 500 and 600 troops will be sent immediately to Guinea-Bissau.

At least 3,000 regional soldiers are ready to go to Mali to support the transitional government's fight against rebels which control the north.

The BBC's John James at the meeting in Abidjan says no timescale was set for the deployment to Mali, because the leaders were waiting for the Malian government to draw up details of their collaboration.

It is still unclear which regional countries will contribute to the Ecowas force, and even once ready, it will need financial and logistical outside help before it can be deployed.

But Ecowas warned the coup leaders in Guinea-Bissau that if they failed to agree to the deployment within 72 hours, they face targeted sanctions.

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“Start Quote

A strong response… is more than ever vital so that the region doesn’t fall prey to terrorism and international criminality”

End Quote Alassane Ouattara Ivorian president

The troops will provide security during the transition to civilian rule.

The army took power on April 12, during presidential elections which were expected to elect the current prime minister Carlos Gomes Junior.

Soldiers say they staged the coup because of alleged plans by Mr Gomes to reduce the size of the army.

The interim President Raimundo Pereira and Mr Gomes were arrested during the coup in the small West African country, which has become a major staging post for gangs smuggling cocaine from Latin America to Europe.

No elected leader in nearly 40 years of independence has finished their time in office in the former Portuguese colony.

Northern rebels

In Mali, a civilian government has been restored in the south following last month's coup that overthrew President Amadou Toumani Toure shortly before he was due to be replaced in elections.

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Mali crisis: Who's who?

Why West Africa cannot break its drug habit

The government in the capital, Bamako, is struggling to cope with rebels who want to create a separate northern state.

The current Ecowas chairman, the Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara, said the leaders were “confronted by the biggest ever threat to our democracy”.

Speaking at the start of the meeting he said: “A strong response and the commitment of our allies is more than ever vital so that the region doesn't fall prey to terrorism and international criminality.”

There are two main groups behind the rebellion in Mali: The secular National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and Ansar Dine, an Islamist group that has started to impose Sharia in some towns.

The MNLA is made up partly of Tuareg who had fought in Libya on the side of Col Muammar Gaddafi and returned to Mali after he was killed.

They complain they have been ignored by the authorities in the south.

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Ceuta and Melilla, fragments of Europe on north Africa's Mediterranean coast, came under Spanish control around 500 years ago.

Madrid says the urban enclaves are integral parts of Spain. They are surrounded by Morocco, which views the Spanish presence as anachronistic and claims sovereignty.

But improving relations were jeopardised in November 2007 by Spanish King Juan Carlos' II first visit to the territories in more than 30 years, which King Mohammed VI strongly condemned.

Spain also controls a scattering of islets along the north African coast, including uninhabited Perejil, which was at the centre of a spat in 2002 when Moroccan soldiers occupied it before being removed by the Spanish army.

More recently, differences over Ceuta and Melilla have not prevented a warming of relations between Morocco and Spain, particularly economic ones. Morocco's premier has advocated “neighbourly” talks on the issue.

With its rebuilt 15th century cathedral, shipyards and a fish-processing plant, Ceuta is viewed by Spain as the more strategically-valuable enclave. The town is a 90-minute ferry ride from mainland Spain.

Melilla, conquered in 1497, is a modern town with a distinctive old quarter.

The enclaves are surrounded by fences, intended to deter illegal immigrants. But Ceuta and Melilla are nonetheless used by many Africans as stepping-stones to Iberia. Many migrants are caught and some drown while attempting to make the sea crossing. People trafficking is common.

After a series of increasingly-desperate attempts by would-be immigrants to surmount the barriers in 2005, Spain and Morocco agreed to deploy extra troops to try to secure the borders.

Ceuta and Melilla are linked to Spain by ferry services to Malaga, Algeciras and Almeria. Borders and defence are controlled by Madrid. Tourism is an important money-earner with duty-free goods being a big draw for visitors.

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