Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea- the Horn of Africa

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THE HORN OF AFRICA

With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990, Soviet support for Ethiopia collapses along with the old communist Mengitsu governemnt. Likewise, the soviet-backed Said Barre government falls in Somalia. The west-leaning Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is formed. At the same time, radical Islamic influence increases in Somalia in the form of the Union of islamic Courts. In Somalia, in the early 90s, there is hardly any government as warlords fight one another for mastery. In 1993, Muslim Eritrea wins indepndence from Christian Somalia.

 Fighting in Somalia takes the form of a contest to impose order on the post Communist startus quo with Major Aideed representing the traditional clan system fighting the central government headed by President Mahdi. Aideed wins international confidence by adopting the Xeer or tribal constitution. However, as clan politics and rivalry appear to get in the way of aid delivery in the midst of famine, the international community switches its support to Mahdi. As the US under President Clinton attempts to intervene in force, in 1993, using elite troops to open the way for delivering food aid, Aideed's militias, the militias close in on US units in Mogadishu. During fierce urban fighting, Somali militias endure huge losses, inflicting atrocities and the prospect of a quagmire on US troops, forcing the humiliation of US withdrawal. Aideed seizes the presidency in 1995 before being killed in combat in 1996.

In 1995 a post-Communist Republic is finally formed in Ethiopia a border war with Eritrea erupting in the late 1990s with al Qaeda Islamists implicated in the bombing of the US embassy there in 1998. Relatively peaceful governments persist in the northern semi-autonomous states of Somaliland and Puntland, while Somalia, in the south, slowly heads toward anarchy.

In Somalia, four factions of the Islamic Courts unite and formally found the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) in 2000. Opposing it is the Transitrional Government in Mogadishu headed by Abdulkassim Salad Hassan and supported by organized clans- the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism (ARPCT). From the south, Mogadishu is opposed by a second force, the Reconciliation and Restoration Congress, backed by Ethiopia. By 2006, after several years of fighting, the Union of Islamic Courts has gained complete control of Mogadishu. The conflict takes on global dimensions as the US delivers support for ARPCT and Osama Bin Laden declares Somalia an Islamic state and warns Al Qaeda will oppose any foreign intervention. Christian Ethiopia, meanwhile, feels the threat of Islamism in neighbouring Somalia and especially its use of Eritrea as a base by Somali Islamists.

In summer 2006, Ethiopian troops begin to enter Somalia; in the fall, the Union of Islamic Courts agrees to joint rule with the transitional government (TG) under President Yusuf provided Ethiopian troops withdraw. But Ethiopia invades in force in December and together with the forces of the Transitional Government (TG), drives the UIC out of Mogadishu.Almost immediately the UIC is reinforced as international Islamists enter the country.

Still, the New year, 2007, sees the Islamic Courts in full retreat. As fighters in the UIC and Shebab militia retreat south, US and Ethiopian war planes strafe them at the Kenyan border. TG President Yusuf consolidates the tribes in Mogadishu, making way for UN aid and African Union (AU) peacekeeping stoops. By March AU and TG troops backed by the Ethiopian military are in fierce fighting with the UIC around Mogadishu. Thoughout the spring the war produces a massive humanitarian criss with over 300,000 refugees flooding out of the country. Attempts at national reconciliation, ceasefires and disarmement collapse as Islamists refuse to negotiate and  the conflict intensifies. In September fractious tribal factions in the government alliance sign a peace accord in Saudi Arabia in order to oppose the UIC more effectively. Internal disgreements lead to the resignation of Somali's Prime Minister Gedi.

By late 2007 the violence in central Somalia has produced 1 million refugees along with a surge of impoverished but heavily armed pirates in speed boats headin g out from bases in Somaliland and Puntland,  preying on international shipping in the Gulf of Aden- despite attempts at prevention by the US Navy. In April, 2008. the EU calls for stronger enforcement as French, Spanish and other ships are hijacked for ransom. US missiles, meanwhile kill Islamic militants who nevertheless make progress toward Mogadishu. As the UN Security Council votes unanimously to take summary action against the pirates, both Ethiopia and the UIC declare they will not withdraw until the other is driven from the country.


By late summer, 2008, red Sea Piracy is rampant. A volunteer Somali coast guard tries to take the matter in hand with some minor success. Meanwhile a string of bombings across relatively peaceful Puntland in the north is linked to Islamists.


The Islamist offensives make headway against Mogadishu, the militia Al Shabab controlling most of the south. The Ethiopian military makes a last offensive in December before its pomised withdrawal before January 1, 2009. As the year closes, the leadership in Mogadishu splits as President Yusuf objects to Prime Minister Hussein's attempts to draw moderate Islamists into the government. Hussein prevails with the backing of parliament, forcing President Yusuf to resign. Ethipian troops return home. US navy warships, meanwhile, begin to score a few successes against Somali pirates plying the Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden.    

2009 opens with Islamist forces rapidly filling the vacuum left by Ethiopian troops and advancing on Mogadishu. With more moderate Islamists from the opposition elected to parliament, a moderate Islamist President, Sheikh Ahmed, is elected president. Ahmed slects Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke as Prime Minister, widely seen as a possible liaison between Islamists in government and the West.

In March,  fighting breaks out between Al Shabab and a rival Islamist group in Central Somalia. In the Gulf of Aden on April 9, meanhile, pirates hold US tanker Captian Phillips hostage in a lifeboat before his captors are shot by US Navy Seal snipers and he is rescued.  

The Somali government votes in Islamic Law in April,  as fighting outside the capital intensifies with a continuing offensice against Mogadishu and pirate hijackings of international shipping reach a new high, occurring almost daily. In June, a bomb attack on a hotel north of Mogadishu kills the Somali Security Minister and twenty others with Al Shabab and Al Qaeda declaring joint responsibility. In summer an ugly spate of beheadings by Islamist militias seem perversely to echo government Shaira law as thives are punsished with public amputation of hands and feet.

At the beginning of August, Burundi supplimentsAU forces from Uganda bringing the AU contingent to a total of 5,000. On September 9, leading Red Sea-Gulf of Aden shipping nations sign the New York Declaration providing for the use of maximum force in defence of international shipping from piracy. In the fall, Al Shabab wins in its rivalry with another Islamic militia and plans to send Islamist fighters to Yemen . In February, 2010 Al   Shabab formally declares its allegiance to Al Qaeda.

In 2010, Al Shabab, apparently in control of the Islamist forces, turns its attention to Uganda's contribution to the the AU force and in July claims responsibility for twin blasts in the Ugandan capital of Kampala, killing 74 who were doing nothing more than watching the world cup on TV.  Fighting for control of Mogadishu itself wears on through late summer into fall.

THE HORN OF AFRICA: THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY.

Ethiopia and neighbouring Somalia both represent anomalies in Europe's colonization of Africa. While Ethiopia was Africa's oldest and in many ways it strongest state, Somalia was among the weakest as well as being the last to be explored by Europeans. Both nations, located on the Horn of Africa, were seen by Europeans as vital to control of the Red Sea and trade routes betweem the Middle East and Africa, the Mideiteranean and the Indian Ocean. In the second half of the 19th century, northwestern Somalia was occupied by the French. north and eastern Somalia by the British and southern Somalia by the Italians. Territorial settlements and decolonization after World War II led to Somali independence and Europe's continuied recognition of Ethiopia's monarchy. But their strategic location on the Horn of Africa as well as a history of local territorial rivalry made them prey to conflicting superpower ambitions. Ethiopia and Somalia both experiecned alternate support by the United States and the Soviet Union in the superpowers' quest for dominance in the region. In the mid-70s, after Ethiopian army officers assassinated King Hailie Selassie, a Marxist government took power.

THE HORN OF AFRICA: ANCIENT HISTORY.

While the low-lying coastal region of Somalia remained a source of trade for Ancient Egypt, 6th century Arab traders from across the Red Sea founded the mountainous, better defended and more durable state of Axum in the north of modern Ethiopia. While Ethiopia became Christian and resisted Islam, the religion of Mohammed spread from Arabia into Somallia. But in contrast to Ethiopia, the local African Somali tribes tended to absorb the Arabs and the Somali region remained broken up local tribal territories and sultanates. Meanwhile, the people of eastern Ethiopia, bordering on Somalia remained ethnic Somalis and in the 16th century, a Muslim Somali sultan waged a jihad to reclaim the Ogaden for what the Somalis have ever since claimed to the Greater Somalia.

SUMMARY: ConTinuity in Ethiopia and discontinuity in Somalia inform their respective histories. Though occupied by the Italians and then the British during World War Two, Ethiopia was still the world's oldest monarchy under King Hailie Selassie and Africa's oldest Christian State. By contrast, neighboring, coastal Somalia was a marginal region which became Islamic and was divided among Portugeuse colonies and Islamic sultanates. Divided in turn among France, Britain and Italy at the end of the 19th century, Somalia only knew a a sembalnce of unity with the gradual withdrawal of the allied colonial powers at the end of World War Two, becoming an independent nation in 1960. As a result, Communism, and, briefly, Islam remained among its few uniting forces, while a loose network of clans run by warlords a still seems to be the norm. Indeed, the Union of Islamic Courts seems, like its former status as a Soviet satellite, to be a passing phenomenon. Somalia's fragility and its historical and territorial rivalry with Ethiopia have kept it on the eastern side of the East-West divide. The pattern has continued with Somalia, allegedly infiltrated by al Qaeda and Ethiopia backed by the United States.

TIMELINE FOR THE HISTORY OF SOMALIA, ETHIOPIA, ERITREA:
(with thanks for some items after 2005 from BBC World)

8,000 BC- rock art in Ethiopia.
Ancient Punt an outlier of Egypt.
1500 BC- Egypt trades via the red sea with ancient Somalia, then called Punt.

Axum
600-400 BC- iron working in Axum. 
550 BC (circa) Sabean Arab traders migrate to the western shore of the Red Sea (modern Eritrea and Ethiopia). They found the kingdom of Axum and conquer the other side of the straits (west Yemen) to control access to the Red Sea.

Christian Abyssnia in the south; Axum in the north.

300-400 AD- The Kingdom of Abyssinia (later Ethiopia) conquers the Kingdom of Kush in the Sudan.

350- Ezana, the king of Axum (north of Ethiopia), converts to Christianity.

500 - Ethiopia’s agriculture is the most advanced in Africa, due to early use of iron implements, the plough and disease-resistant draft animals.

-Ethiopian region (Abyssunia and Axum) becomes Christian.

525- Byzantine Emperor, Justinian I asks King Caleb of Axum to avenge the persecution of Christians in Yemen. Caleb crosses to Yemen with an army and defeats the local Hameratites, making Yemen into a possession of Axum. Through trade and faith, Axum keeps close contact with Byzantium.

-550- Christian Axum attempts to conquer Mecca. Its failure will pave the way for the coming of Islam.

-before the arrival of Islam, a monumental and relatively highly developed culture is believed to have thrived in Somalia.

Islam arrives in Somalia; the decline of Axum.

-after the rise of Islam, an Arab immigration to Somalia is believed to have been absorbed by the native, East African population.

750-1200- northern Somalia is converted to Islam but remains a congeries of tribal domains and sultanates.
-Axum, to the north, is Monophysite Christian.

-with the spread of Islam after the 7th century, Axum begins to decline.

-950- Axum, the eponymous capital, is sacked by the woman warrior Gudit of the Falasha clan (converts to Judaism).

-Islamic warlords encroach from the Red Sea coast.

Formation of a new Abyssinia; Rivalry with Somalia.

-1117- Christian people of Axum withdraw into Ethiopian highlands with a new capital at Lalibela. Abyssinia is formed. Feudalization and militarization of Abyssinia in order to resist encroachment by Islamic sultantes of Ifat and Adal in modern Ethiopia and Somalia.

1314-1468- the high culture of Ethiopia (Abyssinia)- an apogee of African civilization. Ethiopia has a literary tradition embracing religion and chronicles. The Ethiopian Bible includes the book of Enoch.

1314-1344- the Ethiopian warrior king Amda Seyon.
1350- (circa) Mogadishu and Southern Somalia remain culturally Swahili.

1434-1468- Ethiopian warrior king Zara Yaqob.

The Portuguese play on rivalry between Ethiopia and Somalia.
-coastal Somalia is alternately occupied by the Sultan of Zanzibar and the Portugeuse.

1535- Somali islamic warrior Sultan Gran attacks Abyssinia from the south east, forcing the emperor to appeal to the Portigeuse,

1550- (circa)-Ethiopia survives as a Christian state, bolstered by Portugal.

-16th century- Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al Ghazi leads a Somali jihad against Ethiopia.

The 19th Century and France, Britain and Italy.

-in the mid 19th century, Somalia is the last region to be explored by Europeans.

-in the second half of the 19th century, northwestern Somalia is occupied by the French; north and eastern Somalia by the British and southern Somalia by the Italians.

-British colonial rule in the north is based on the clan system. Italian rule in the south ignores the clan system in favour of the European idea of a centralized state.

The Afar People of Eritrea.

-1875- the Afar people of Northeastern Abyssinia repel an attempt at invasion by Egypt. (They are also called the Danakil because they inhabit the Danakil Desert which overlaps Tigre, Eritirea and Djibouti) The Afar, formerly pirates, have pastoral herding as well as coastal fishermen. They profess Islam and are ruled by a hereditary sultan. The 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica describes them as "desperate fighters" who believe that "guns are only to frighten cowards"

1883- the chief sultan of the Afars agrees to treaties placing the Afars under Italian protection.

1884- Eritrea is occupied by Italy
1889-  Italy occupies Somaliland..

Ethiopia still independent under Emperor Menelik.
1889-1913- numerous peoples of Ethiopia united under Emperor Menelik II.

1894- Tigre comes under Ethiopian control.

1896- Menelik of Ethiopia defeats an attempted invasion by Italy.
1897- the British occupy north Somaliland.

1899- the Brtish and Italians attempt, without success, to conquer Sultan Muhammed Abdullah of Somalia's northwest interior region of Harrar.

1890- Eritrea is made an Italian colony.

Italian and British rivalry over Ethiopia an Eritrea; Haile Selassie.

-1914- Ethiopia remains the only region of Africa not to be conquered by Europeans.

-1930- Haile Selassie crowned king of Ethiopia.

-1935- Italy, under Mussolini, invades and occupies Ethiopia. King Haile Selassie is sent into exile.

-1935- Tigre occupied by Italians and governed as part of Eritrea.

-1936- Eritrea becomes part of Italian East Africa.

-1941- Emperor Haile Salassie returns to Ethiopia. from exile

-1941- Eritrea is taken from Italy by the British.

-Tigre is liberated from Italian rule by the British.

Expulsion of Italy; first Somali sense of Nationhood.

-1940s- Somali nationalism begins to develop under British occuption.

-1945- the British occupy Ethiopia, expelling the Italians.

-the British return Ethiopia to independence under King Haile Salassie. He represents the world’s oldest monarchy.

1948- Somalia disputes the granting of Ogaden to Ethiopia. Ever since, Somailia has wanted to expand into a Greater Somalia to include ethnic Somalis in Ethiopia.

-1950s- Somalia is a trust territory of the UN.

Unification of Somalia during Decolonization.

-British and Italian Somalia are united to form the state of Somalia.

-1952- Eritrea and Tigre are federated with Ethiopia at the request of the UN.

-1960 Somalia gains independence.

Eritrean Separatism in Ethiopia.

-1963- Eritrea is formally made a province of Ethiopia- provoking the formation of the Eritrean Liberation Front.

-Tigre people's Liberation Front is founded in response to Ethiopia's refusal of autonomy for Tigre.

-1963-1993- through protracted guerilla war and soradic Societ support during the regimes of Selassie and Mengitsu, Eritrea gained independence in 1993.

Communist Rule of Said Barre.

-1969 -Said Barre takes over Somalia in a Communist-backed coup.

-Ethiopia’s northern region of Eritrea opens a struggle for secession.

-1974- after trying to pacify unrest with a series of reforms, Haile Salassie is overthrown in a communist coup. .

-1974- Somalia joins the Arab League.l

Ethiopia and Somalia war over the Ogaden.

-1977-78- fighting erupts between Ethiopia and Somalia over the Ogaden.

-1977- Hailie Mengistu rises to leadership of Ethiopia’s Communist-backed government. Somalia loses the Ogaden war as the Soviet Union switches its support to Ethiopia.

-1980- Somali president Said Barre begins military cooperation with the US.
 -1980s- Ethiopia is racked by famine. Separatist movements in Eritrea and Tigre defeat Ethiopian troops.

Islamists in northern Somalia as chaos follows collapse of Communist rule.
1980s- Somalia fights Islamic fundamentalists in its north and the Patriotic Front in the south.

-1988- civil war breaks out in Somalia- between the government forces of Said Barre and several groups including the Somali National Movement.

1990- with the fall of Communism, Somali President Said Barre is overthrown and Somalia returns to rule by rival warlords in tribal anarchy.

Collapse of Communist Ethiopia.

-1991- due to economic mismanagement and reduction in aid from a crumbling Soviet Union, together with advancing rebel groups from Eritrea and Tigre, Mengistu’s Communist government in Ethiopia collapses.

-1991- A new government, the Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is set up under Tigrean president, Meles Zenawi. President Mengistu flees Ethiopia.

Islamization in northern Somalia.

-in northern Somalia, Islamic courts begin to appear, enforcing Sharia and providing social services.

-in Somalia- Ali Mahdi Moahmmed succeeds Said Barre as president. Mahdi supports the idea of centralized state control, a legacy of southern, Italian Somalia which ignores the role that tribes can play in governing, the maintenance oforder and in the ecionomy.

-an independent Tigrean government is formed by Tigrean president Meles Zenawi.

Al Qaeda appears in Somalia in midst of clan war.
1992-3-  as part of Osama Bin Laden’s Sudan-based al Qaeda support for Somali Muslims, 9/11 terrorist Mohammed Atef trains Somali tribal guerillas opposed to UN intervention
1993-- Eritrea wins independence from Ethiopia. Ethiopian provinces are given the right to secede by referndum.

Major Aideed Represents the Traditional Clan System vs Government of President Mahdi.
-in central and northern Somalia, Major Mohammed Aideed, a member of the Hawiye clan, supports the traditional can system of government known as 'kirtarchy' in the face of Somali President Mahdi's centralized state which actually conceals the anarchy left in the wake of disempowered tribes
1993- March 30- the four tribes of northwest Somalia adopt the 'Xeer, the traditional Somali constitution favoured by Major Aideed.
-June 4, two clans from the northeast and center adopt the Xeer. Some degree of peace is restored as the clans broker a peaceful government. As a result the international community favours Aideed.

-however, the international community changes its mind, coming to support the status quo of President Mahdi and rejecting Aideed's alternative proposal of the clan system.

Najor Aideed an Obsyacle to Famine Relief; US Intervenes and is driven out.

1993- in an attempt to broker peace and bring aid relief to the starving populations, the Americans, under President Clinton, attempt to arrest warlord President Mohammed Aideed in Mogadishu. In the ensuing firefight, 18 marines are killed and the Americans, as well as the entire international aid community withdraw.

1995- 15 Somali clans elect Mohammed Farrah Aideed president despite the presidency, in the north, of Ali Mahdi Mohammed.

Post Communist Ethiopia.

1995- the Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is established under President Nigasso Gidada.

1998- Ethiopia has a border dispute with Eritrea.

1998- US Embassy bombed Ethiopia. US suspects al Qaeda.

Union of Islamic Courts in Somalia.
1998- four sharia courts in Somalia bond together.

-2000- the Union of Islamic Courts. Is founded in Somalia.

2000- in Somalia a transitional government is formed under Abdulkassim Salad Hassan in Mogadishu. In the south, rivals to Mogadishu from the the Reconciliation and Restoration Congress which is supported by Ethiopia.

ARPTC Alliance vies with Islamic Courts.

2002- with two governing factions, Somalia is still in anarchy.

-In Mogadishu, Somalia, the warloeds of Mogadishu form the (unofficially) US-backed Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPTC), in reaction to the Union of Islamic Courts. They back the Transtional Federal Government at Naidoa, north west of Mogadishu. The TFG agains support from the African Union.

The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) Gains Power.

By the year 2000, the Union of Islamic courts have started to gain power in Somalia and by 2006, they're in control.

February, 2006- the UIC starts a struggle against local warlords for control of Somalia.
May-July, 2006- the Union of Islamic courts wrests Mogadishu from the warlords of the ARPCT. The UIC controls Mogadishu and the coastal areas of southern Somalia.

June, 2006- the UIC drives Somali warlords out of Mogadishu.

June, 2006- the US is revealed to be backing the warlord ARPTC.

July- Osama Bin Laden announces al Qaeda will oppose with force any intervention in Somalia where he backs the idea of an Islamic state.

August- border engagements between Ethiopia and UIC.

Summer-Fall, 2006- Union of Islamic Courts extends its control to airports and seaports.

Sept 5, 2006- Treaty of Khartoum: the Union of Islamc Courts and the Transtional Government agree to merge on condition that Ethiopian troops withdraw. But the agreement collapses when Ethiopia refuses to pull out.

November- Ethiopian troops fighting with UIC troops in central Somalia.

   
Ethiopia, US, backing Transitional Government.

Dec. 4- US General John Abizaid visits Adis Ababba. The United States, worried about assistance being given to Somali Islamists by Al Qaeda, has covertly backed Ethiopia.

Dec. 8 Troops of Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts engages militarily with Somalia's

Transitional Government which is backed by Ethiopia. Ethiopia fears that its former territory, Eritrea might be backing the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC). Ethiopian troops approach the central Somali town of Bidoa to defend Somalia's Transitional Government.

Ethiopian Invasion.

Dec 15- Forces of the Transitional Government, angered by the Ethiopioan invasion, begin to defect to the UIC.

Dec. 20-26. The UIC loses battles against Ethiopia and Somali Trasitional Government forces at Baidoa.

Dec. 26- The UIC orders a retreat from Baidoa. The Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi says his troops will surround Mogaishu but not occupy it.

International Islamists arrive to back the UIC.

Dec. 27- the leaders of the UIC resign as Ethiopian jets bomb Somali airports

Fears abound that American backing of Ethiopia will only strengthen the resolve of Islamist groups in the region and create general instability. And that 9 other countries are supplying both sides in what could be a regional proxy war.

-in early January, Islamist militants continue to arrive from abroad sometimes by boat, to support the UIC as the Arab League and the EU try to broker a ceasefire.

-an Aircraft Carrier and other US navy vessels wait off the Somalian coast to intercept fleeing Islamists from the UIC.

UIC in Retreat.

2007- January-March- continued fighting between All Shabab, the armed wing of the Islamic Courts on the one hand and the Somalia Transitional Govenrment and the Ethiopian army on the other. African Union peacekeepers attempt, unsuccessfully to intervene.

-the conflict begins to reveal its triblal roots as the Hawiye tribe of Central and South Somalia speaks for the Islamic Courts most of whose members are Hawiye, accusing the Transtional; Government of being nothing but a front for the Darood Tribe in northern Somalia. The Darood, in fact is the tribe of Transtional Government President Yusuf.

-military units of the Union of Islamic Courts retureat southward and try to make a stand in the port city of Kismayo.

-around 6,000 Somali refugess crowd the Kenyan bborder.

Jan 8-9, 2007- -US aircraft from a US base in Djibouti strafe fleeing al Shebab UIC fighters on the Kenyan border, killing civilians. 10 Al Qaeda associates were killed but two Al Qaeda operatives suspected in the Ethiopia Embassy bombings escaped.

-Ethiopian aircraft join US in air strikes.

Jan 12, -transtional government president Abdullahi Yusuf holds talks with warlords in Mogadishu in hopes of restoring enough order to bring in UN and AU peacekeepers. Meanehile his guards clash with warlords' militias.

-US airstrikes continue north of Kismayo.

Eritrea Supports Somali UIC.

-Eritrea, embroiled in a long-lived border war with Ethiopia, has expressed strong support for the Somali Islamists.

Full scale war in Mogadishu.
2007 March - African Union peacekeepers land at Mogadishu amid pitched battles between insurgents and government forces backed by Ethiopian troops. The Red Cross says it is the worst fighting in 15 years.
-2007-Mar 28- Hawiye elders agree not to attack African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu.

Humanitarian crisis grows
2007- April 1- Somalia's most powerful clan brokers a truce with Ethiopian officials.

-April - hundreds killed from fighting in Mogadishu between Ethiopian-backed government troops and Islamic insurgents. Between March 12 and April 16, 1,670 killed.
-UN says more than 320,000 Somalis have fled fighting in Mogadishu since February.
Hundreds of people are reported killed after several days of fierce clashes in the capital.
April 26- Somali prime minister claims victory over insurgents.

2007 May -Mohammed Dheere, a former warlord becomes mayor of Mogadishu and orders residents to lay down arms.
- The World Food Programme says a resurgence of piracy is threatening food supplies.

-UN humanitarian aid official visits Mogadishu as 4 killed in blast at UN office.


2007 June - A US warship shells suspected Al-Qaeda targets in Puntland.
Prime Minister Ghedi escapes a suicide car bomb attack on his compound.
 -Somali pirate atrtacks on international shipping off Somali coast reach unprecedented levels.
Ethiopian Premier Meles Zenawi visits Mogadishu, pledging to withdraw his troops once peace takes hold.
-violents erupts in Mogadishu on eve of peace conference.
2007 July - National reconciliation conference opens in Mogadishu and comes under mortar attack. Islamist leaders stay away from the talks.
-UN reports that Eritreans are shipping arms to possible Al Qaeda units in Somalia.
Refugee exodus grows amid an upsurge in violence.
2007 August - Human Rights Watch accuses Ethiopian, Somali and insurgent forces of war crimes, and the UN Security Council of indifference during the recent conflict.

Peace treaty among government factions; New opposition alliance
2007 -September- -in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah sponsors the signing of a peace agreement to unify discordant Somali factions against the Islamists.
September - Opposition groups form a new alliance to campaign for a military and diplomatic solution to the Somali conflict. They meet in Asmara, Eritrea.

2007- October- Mogadishu engulfed in heavy fighting.

 Somalis Protest Ethopian Intervention.
-October - Ethiopian forces fire on demonstrators in Mogadishu protesting at the presence of what they call foreign invaders.
-hHeaviest fighting in Mogadishu reported since April. Ethiopians move reinforcements into the city.
Prime Minister Ghedi resigns.
Aid agencies warn a catastrophe is unfolding in Somalia.

Somali PM Resigns

Oct 29- Somali PM, Ali Mohammed Gedi resgins after long power struggle with President Abdullahi Yusuf as protestors demonstrrate against presence of Ethiopian troops.
Oct 30- Salim Aliyow Ibrow appointed as intermin prime Minister.
-migrants drowning as thousands flee Somalia, attempting to cross the Red Sea,
2007 November - Government shuts down Radio Shabelle, Radio Simba and Radio Banadir.
-Nov. 5- US Navy frees 5 ships in one week from Somali Pirates in Red Sea-Indian Pcean sipping lanes.
UN special envoy Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah describes Somalia's humanitarian crisis the worst in Africa, suggests using international justice to curb the violence.
Nur Hassan Hussein, also known as Nur Adde, sworn in as new prime minister.

Somali Refugees reach 1 Million.
Number of Somali refugees hits one million, with nearly 200,000 fleeing the capital in the past two weeks, the UN reports.
2007 December - Ethiopian troops leave key central town of Guriel.
2008 January - Burundi becomes the second nation to contribute troops to the African Union peacekeeping force, sending 440 soldiers to Mogadishu.


US  Missile Strikes kill Islamists.
2008 March - US launches missile strike on southern town of Dhoble targeting suspected al-Qaeda member wanted for 2002 bombing of Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya.
-Islamist-led insurgency continues to spread.
2008 April - EU calls for international efforts to tackle piracy off the Somaliland and Puntland coast after a series of hijackings and attacks on vessels. They are freed April 16 after a $1.2 million ransom is paid.
-April 13- Somali pirates take French cruise ship Le Ponant returning empty from Sychelles.
-April 20- Somali pirates take Spanish fishing  trawler.

2008 April - US air strike kills Aden Hashi Ayro, a leader of the Al-Shabab insurgent group.
2008 -May 3- internecine clan fighting in western Somalia leaves 12 dead.
-Somali troops kill 2 during food riots.

Ethiopian PM says troops will say untel Al Qaeda dealt with.
May - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi says he will keep troops inside Somalia until "jihadists" are defeated.
 -The UN Security Council unanimously votes to allow countries to send warships into Somalia's territorial waters to tackle pirates.
2008 -June 2- Somalian opposition coalition refuses to consent to peace talks without a timetable for witnhdrawal for Ethiopian troops.

Islamists will fight until all Foreign Forces Out
June - Government signs three-month ceasefire pact with opposition Alliance for Re-Liberation of Somalia.
The deal, which provides for Ethiopian troops to leave Somalia within 120 days, is rejected by Islamist leader Hassan Dahir Aweys, who says Union of Islamic Courts will not stop fighting until all foreign troops have left country.
July 1-African Union extends commitment of its peackeeeping force in Somalia by 6 months but asks the UN to take over permanently.
2008 - July - Head of the UN Development Programme in Somalia, Osman Ali Ahmed, killed by gunmen in Mogadishu.
July 22- Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aways becomes head of Eritrea-based Somali oppisition alliance (ARS).

PiracyRampant
August- 5 pirate hi-jackings in Gulf of Aden.
Aug, 22-26 Shabab Islamist militia takes the port of Kismayo, Somalia's 3rd largest city, leaving 70 dead with plans to join Al Qaeda. 
2008 September - Somali pirates' hijacking of a Ukrainian ship carrying 33 tanks destined for southern Sudan prompts widespread international concern. The US and other countries deploy navy ships to Somali waters.
2008 October - Nato agrees to despatch a naval force to patrol to waters off Somalia by the end of 2008, in an effort to control piracy.
Oct 21- Volunteer Somali gunmen ascting as coast guard outfit free an Indian dhow from pirates. 
-A wave of coordinated bombings across the self-governing and relatively peaceful regions of Somaliland and Puntland, in Somalia's north, kill at least 27 people. Puntland security arrests cleric Sheikh Mohammed Ismail in cinnection with bombings.

Al Shabab Controls most of Southern Somalia.
2008 -Nov 12- after taking the town of Merka  islamist Shabab militia controls most of southern Somalia.
November - Somali pirates hijack an oil-laden Saudi super-tanker and demand a 25m dollar ransom for its return.
-Nov- 20- Somali pirates have taken 80 ships in the Gulf of Aden in 2008. Hijackings continue for remainder of year.

One Last Surge Before Ethiopian troops withdraw.
2008- Dec 9- surge of Ethiopian troops enters Somalia to fight islamists
-International naval forces now attacking pirates head-on with some success. Indian navy captures 23.

-As Ethiopia prepares to withdraw, Islamists make headway.
December - Ethiopia announces plans to withdraw all forces by end of 2008.

Squabble lofer attempts to include moderate Islamists in Somali Government.
President Abdullahi Yusuf tries to sack Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein over his attempts to draw moderate Islamists into the government. Parliament declares the dismissal unconstitutional and passes a vote of confidence in Mr Nur. Mr Yusuf resigns.
Dec 20-24- Somali prime minister Mohammed Guled and president  Abdullahi Yusuf resign due to internal feuding in Somali government.

Eithiopian army withdraws; Al-Shabab advances
2009 January - Ethiopia completes the withdrawal of its troops. Fighters from the radical Islamist al-Shabab militia take control of the town of Baidoa, formerly a key stronghold of the transitional government.

Moderate Islamists in Government.
-Meeting in neighbouring Djibouti, Somalia's parliament swears in 149 new members from the main opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia. It elects a moderate Islamist, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, president, and extends the transitional government's mandate for another two years.
Jan 11- in central Somalia internecine fighting among divided Islamists kills 30.

Jan 13- Ethiopia hands over control to a joint leadership of Islamists and the Somali military. Islamists move into vacated Ethiopian bases and positions.
Jan 31- -Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed, a moderate Islamist, sworn in as president. Calls for action against extremists. 
2009 February - President Ahmed selects Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke as prime minister. Mr Sharmarke, a former diplomat, is widely seen as a bridge between Islamists within the Somali government and the international community.

Fighting between Rival Islamist groups. Bin Laden Encourages Islamists.
March 15- rival Islamist militias Al Shabab and Hlu-sunah Wal-jamea  battle in central Somalia with 14 dead.
March 19- Osama Bin Laden releases tape in which he urges Islamists to overthrow President Ahmed.
April 9- US tanker captain Richard Phillips is kept captive by Somali pirates in a lifeboat as US navy and FBI negotiate for his releease.
April 12- USA navy Seal snipers kill 3 pirates holding Captain Phillips hostage and bring him to safety.

Somalia Votes for Islamic Law. Piracy reaches new levels. 
April 18- Somali parliament votes to establish Islamic law for all of Somalia.
April 21 Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys refuses peace talks asl long as African Union troops are in the country.
April-May- ships plying the Gulf of Aden from many countries are attacked, or repel, capture or pay ransom to Somali pirates almost daily.
May 12- heavy fighting in Mogadishu.

Islamists slowly close in on Mogadishu.
2009 May - Islamist insurgents launch onslaught on Mogadishu.
June 10- US navy sends 17 Somali pirate suspects to Kenya for trial- making for a total of 101 in Kenyan custory.
2009 June - Somalia's security minister and more than 20 other people are killed in a suicide bombing at a hotel in Beledweyne, north of the capital Mogadishu.A Shabab, working closely with Al Qaeda, declares responsibility. President Ahmed declares a state of emergency as violence intensifies. Somali officials appeal to neighbouring countries to send troops to Somalia, as government forces continue to battle Islamist insurgents.

Sharia amputations by Governemnt; beheadings by Islamists.
June 25- Somalia- 4 suspected thieves have a hand and a foot cut off in public.
July 10- Islamists in Baidoa behead seven for various offences.
Aug 1- Burundi sends in more troops bringing Burundi and African Union contingent to 5,000.
Aug20-21- almost 70 killed as government and Islamist forces fight in central Somalia

New York Declaration for self defence against Piracy.
Sept 9- The US, Britain, Cyprus, Japan and Singapore sign the New York Declaration, permitting armed confrontation with pirates.
2009 September - Al-Shabab proclaims allegiance to Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.


Al Shabab wins Islamist rivalry
2009 October - Al-Shabab wins control over the southern port city of Kismayo after defeating the rival Hizbul-Islam Islamist militia, which withdraws to villages to the west. At least 20 are killed and 70 injured in fighting that threatens to spread to the rest of the Islamist-controlled south.
2009 November - Pirates seize a supertanker carrying oil from Saudi Arabia to the US, one of the largest ships captured off Somaliland. The Greek-owned Maran Centaurus was about 1,300km (800 miles) off Somalia when it was hijacked.
Kidnappers released journalists Amanda Lindhout and Nigel Brennan after 15 months in captivity.
2009 December - Al-Shabab denies being behind suicide attack that killed 22 people in Mogadishu, including three ministers.

Al Shebab looking at Yemen as well as Mogadishu.
2010 January - Al-Shabab declares it is ready to send fighters to support Islamist rebels in Yemen.
2010 February - Al-Shabab formally declares alliance with al-Qaeda, begins to concentrate troops in southern Mogadishu for a major offensive to capture the capital.
2010 March - Up to half of food aid being diverted to contractors, militants and local UN staff, says UN's Monitoring Group on Somalia. Findings denied by President Sharif and UN's World Food Programme.
2010 May - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls on world to support current Somalia government as best chance to stabilise the chaotic country.
2010 July - Al-Shabab says it was behind twin blasts which hit Ugandan capital Kampala, killing 74 people watching the World Cup football final on TV.

2013- June 28: UN reports that the Al-Shabaab spiritual leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys has turned himself in to pro-government officials in the central town of Adado. Local elders assert that he and his militia are stationed in the central Galmudug region, having fled from their own comrades in Al-Shabaab-controlled territory after a bout of infighting. According to the Shabelle Media Network, legislators and elders flew in to the town in an attempt to persuade Aweys to negotiate with the government. However, the elders indicate that their efforts were unsuccessful