Last week, Somalia’s donors and international partners came together in London to lay down the foundations of post-transitional government in the country.  The London gathering, which brought together over 50 heads of state and hundreds of international organizations, marked a

Read the rest of Can Britain fix Somalia? – By Abdihakim Aynte »

Today, over 40 delegates from many nations and organisations are meeting in London to discuss the future of Somalia’s post transition government. The Somali-led conference, hosted by Britain, will address the reconstruction of the governance system – namely security, Justice and Public

Read the rest of Somalia seeks lasting support from London conference – By Farah Abdulsamed »

Harakat Al Shabaab is an organisation that has, for many years, been misunderstood. This is perhaps most clearly illustrated by the frequent predictions concerning its fragmentation and imagined demise. These predictions first occurred in 2008 and have been repeated ever

Read the rest of Somalia: rumours of Al-Shabaab’s death are greatly exaggerated – By Stig Hansen »

Stig Jarle Hansen has written what is undoubtedly the best book on Al-Shabaab – a militant islamist group based in Somalia – currently available. It has received high praise from international Africa commentators as Gerard Prunier, J.Peter Pham and Christopher

Read the rest of REVIEW: Al-Shabaab in Somalia: the history and ideology of a militant islamist group, 2005 – 2012 – By Magnus Taylor »

Crisis in the Horn of Africa: politics, piracy and the threat of terror, Peter Woodward Peter Woodward will be known to many as a long-time historian of the Horn of Africa and particularly Sudan, where his Sudan, 1898-1989: the unstable

Read the rest of Crisis and Development in the Horn of Africa: two new books on a volatile region – By Magnus Taylor »

In Somalia, the radical Islamist militia, Al-Shabab, that has terrorized much of the country over the past five years, appears to be on the run. They have been forced out of the capital, Mogadishu, and all of the major towns

Read the rest of Somalia, its Neighbours and Al-Shabaab: the Quest for Sustainable Solutions – By Seifulaziz Milas »

I recently gave a talk for Radio 4’s Four Thought series, exploring the links between childhood war trauma suffered by young Somali men and the way some are drawn to violent gang culture. Like other young Somali men I arrived

Read the rest of How childhood trauma of Somali refugees has shaped gang culture on Britain’s streets – By Ismail Einashe »

The Somali militant group al-Shabaab is currently losing ferocious battles against Kenyan troops in Southern Somalia –  part of an African Union peacekeeping mission. However, they are winning a strategic war back in Kenya; this is the battle for hearts

Read the rest of How Shabaab is losing the battle, but maybe winning the war – By Abdi Aynte »

If insecurity was the thorniest problem that plagued Somalia’s previous governments, the new one will be dogged by multiple political challenges. Chief among those is the status of Kismaayo, Somalia’s third largest city. At the center of the Kismaayo conundrum

Read the rest of Somalia: The Kismaayo Conundrum(s) – By Abdi Aynte »

After a long wait, the Kenya Army finally entered the southern Somali port of Kismayo on 28 September, following an attack by sea, air and ground forces. Kenya deserves some praise for its effort to liberate Kismayo from the brutal

Read the rest of After Kismayo: what next for Al-Shabaab and Somalia? – By Seifulaziz Milas »