Nation cursed by war - millions battling drought and hunger in horror camps

30 September 2023 , 20:30

1087     0

Nation cursed by war - millions battling drought and hunger in horror camps

Millions of displaced Somalis are surviving in camps as they battle against drought, hunger and a civil war.

They have witnessed decades of conflict. Formed in 1960, the African nation’s territory had previously been under Italian and British control. The military regime of dictator President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991 – plunging Somalia into a bloody civil war. In 1993, the infamous Battle of Mogadishu – later the subject of the film Black Hawk Down – saw two US helicopters fall from the sky. Hundreds of Somalis were estimated to have been killed. And 18 Americans also died. A transitional parliament was established in 2000.

A camp near the Save the Children health facility in the district of Danyle, Mogadishu, Somalia (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)

An Islamist militia, the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC), seized control of the capital in June 2006 before extending control.

But Ethiopia invaded and the capital fell six months later. Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab – which translates as “the youth” – emerged from the SICC and has been waging an insurgency in the country.

Simon Murphy