For decades there has been an ongoing dispute of the Ogaden region of Eastern Ethiopia. The Ogaden region is in Ethiopia’s Somalia Regional State which borders Somalia. Several battles between the Somalis people in that region and the Ethiopian military has left the Ogaden area war torn. Current conflicts between the Ethiopian military and the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) have forced Ethiopia to put more troops in the area. With escalating tensions in the region both sides continue to employ tactics that are viewed by the international communities as war crimes. The conflict between the two organizations is impacting the efforts that the US is trying to conduct in Ethiopia and the humanitarian effort going on in Somalia. I am going to give a few examples of the ongoing issues and try and determine if there is a peaceful resolution to the conflicts.
According to Seid (2009), up until the 1970’s the conflict between the Ethiopians and the Somalis in the Ogaden region was based mostly on religion. The Ethiopian military has a more Christian view while the Somalis have more of an Islamic view. However, from the 1970s up to today, the desire for nationalism of the Ogaden population has played a main role in the conflict, even though religion is still intertwined in the conflict. The Somalis of the Ogaden region and the Ethiopians both have a we versus them mentality. The Somalis do not recognize the power of the Ethiopians versus the Ethiopians view of the Somalis as being foreigner in their country.
The most well know clash between these two groups occurred in 2007 when the Ethiopians claim the ONLF massacred 74 individuals, including 69 Ethiopians and 5 Chinese in the Ogaden region (Ababa 2007). The Ethiopi...
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Works Cited
Ababa, A. (2007, April 27). Ethiopia - terrorist group onlf massacred 74 in ogaden, ethiopia. Retrieved from http://nazret.com/blog/index.php/2007/04/24/onlf-massacred-74-in-ogaden
Collective punishment. (2008, June). Retrieved from http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/ethiopia0608-1.pdf
ONLF. (2009, June 03). Oil exploration in the ogaden. Ogaden Online. Retrieved from http://www.ogaden.com/hornnews/ogaden/273-onlf-press-release-oil-exploration-in-the-ogaden.html
Seid, M. (2009, January 26). The role of religion in the ogaden conflict. Retrieved from http://hornofafrica.ssrc.org/mealin/index3.html
U.S. Department of State. (2011, November 10). Ethiopia. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2859.htm
[Web log message]. (2011, July 13). Retrieved from
http://aipr.wordpress.com/2011/07/13/genprev-in-the-news-13-july-2011
Annemaire de Waal Malefijt, “Religion and Culture An Introduction to Anthropology of Religion” The United States of America 1989
Civil War is another shared similarity between both Somalia and the United States. In 1991, following the overthrow of the dictator, Siad Barre, Somalia descended into anarchy. With no government presence to maintain some type of order, clan-based warlords began competing with each other, thus beginning civil unjust. While northern parts of Somalia, as well as the self-declared “Republic of Somaliland,” have remained somewhat peaceful, internal fighting flares up with little to no warning. Since 1991, it is estimated that 350, 000 to 1,000,000 Somalia’s have died due to the lack...
Religion is a part of society that is so closely bound to the rest of one’s life it becomes hard to distinguish what part of religion is actually being portrayed through themselves, or what is being portrayed through their culture and the rest of their society. In Holy Terrors, Bruce Lincoln states that religion is used as a justifiable mean of supporting violence and war throughout time (Lincoln 2). This becomes truly visible in times such as the practice of Jihad, the Reformation, and 9/11. The purpose of this essay is to show that as long as religion is bound to a political and cultural aspect of a community, religious war and destruction will always occur throughout the world. A historical methodology will be deployed in order to gain
Independent Online SA, (2012) “Lonmin massacre: a timeline”, 17 August [online] available at www.iol.co.za (Accessed: 25 April 2014).
Again, the United States entered the conflict failing to adhere to all the principals of jus ad bellum, espousing the principles of jus in bello, and inadequately upholding those of jus post bellum. The US entered the war an unjust nation, and left the conflict in a rather unjust manner. As a result, Somalia faces hardship over two decades later with no signs of a hasty recovery. Even worse, with the problem lingering and the international debt crisis, few countries are willing to intervene in Africa to cut out a solution. How long will the world let Somali people starve and whose job is it to intervene if America is unwilling?
The stories of Dona Beatriz, Uthman dan Fodio, and Guimba the Tyrant present three cases in which religion and politics overlapped in different ways and to varying degrees. These three individuals lived in distinct historical contexts and had unique religious trainings, sources of spiritual power, track records as religious and political authorities, goals for reshaping the religious and political landscape of their regions, reputations among their contemporaries, and obstacles with which to contend.
The root causes of the war could be traced back in history to the imperialist policy of great powers of Europe, an international phenomenon during the 19th century. Eritrea as a new independent entity was created by Italian colonization. Italian colonization did not only create a new independent state of Eritrea but also a separate Eritrean identity. As a result of the socio-economic improvements created by the Italian colonial legacy, Eritreans developed a distinct Eritrean identity and a sense being “civilized” and regarded Ethiopians as “backward”. (Tekeste: 2000, p.54-157). In one interview, Eritrean President Issayas once said, “We have lived with Europeans; we have seen much of the civilized world. There are many things we have learned from them. The Ethiopians, on the contrary, have just come out of the forest. They are not civilized. They feel inferior because they have come out of the bush” (Solomon: 1998, p.15).
The purpose of this document is to discuss the horrible acts one may recognize as the genocide in Somalia. One may deliberate regularly on the reasons or circumstances that lead to the mistreatment and killings of a whole country; how could this happen? Why are no other countries willing to step in and give aid to the Somali people whom are suffering on a daily basis? In reality, many concerns have been addressed, whether by discussions or actions. There may be different philosophies or viewpoints as to why the genocide was conducted and not stopped. Genocide is a cruel and inhumane event and is a world problem.
The Darfur genocide arose when the Sudan Liberation Movement and the JEM, which is the largest rebel group in Darfur, entered Al-Fashir, the capital city of North Darfur and attacked the sleeping garrison. There were 32 technicians, pilots and soldiers captured and 75 executed. In response, Arab militias known as Janjaweed, which translate to devil on horseback, destroyed Darfurians by burning villages, murdering, raping and torturing civilians ever since the ethnic cleansing campaign against non-Arabs in Darfur was carried out by the Janjaweed. Although the Sudanese government publicly denies that it supports the Janjaweed, there were evidences where the government provided the Janjaweed with financial support and weapons as well as coordinated joint attacks, which have been usually against civilians. With the goal of completely eliminating the existence of non-Arabs and black Africans in Darfur, Arabic terms were used against them such as “abid” and “surge”, meaning slave and black. In addition, there was slaughter and rape of Darfuri men, women and children where girls as young as 6 years old was raped and mothers were undressed in fro...
Secessionist rebel movements ravaged African states in the 1980s and 1990s. Most of the secessionist movements grew out of the divide and rule system of the colonial era. Eritrea and South Sudan have been colonized, but the secessionist movements further grew out of ‘sustained grievances’ over the violation of human rights, unequal distribution of political power, and marginalization from social and economic development as well as cultural suppression.
In order to analyze Boahen’s work as well as produce a coherent interpretation of his evidence, definitions for and connections between the terms in question are critical. Therefore, peaceful responses are defined as devoid of bloodshed and aggressive confrontation whereas violent reactions are defined as uprisings of a coalition or faction that involve open hostility. In the context of African resistance to colonialism, success is defined as the achievement of the party in question's objective as well as sustaining the attained goal in order for it to have a lasting positive impact on the country. These objectives typically fall into the two categories of state sovereignty and amity. While they are generally found to be the products of peaceful reactions, fatalities and destruction are by large the most notable outcomes of violent opposition. Moreover, this pattern observed from the results of the two types of responses is best understood when presented in terms of time periods: invasion and occupation.
"Center Update: Case Studies on Religion and Conflict." The Berkley Center. Georgetown University, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012.
For centuries, Somalia culture was different from other countries in Africa for the fact that it was not made up of a collection of tribes, but of homogeneous people. To survive, in an ever changing culture Somalis have come to rely on the supporting bond of clanship (CBC Archives, n.d). Separate federations of clans struggling for power and control are the main ingredient for instability and conflict within Somalia. The Somali clans continued fighting has dragged their country already struggling from famine and disease, to undue bloodshed. Clans that were created to offer a sense of social security and belonging for its millions of members are killing their own country. Since 1991, over 400,000 people have died from the civil war in Somalia. Another 600,000 people have died from diseases and starvation. Not everyone feel that Somalia clans are all negative, as such is viewed from the international world. According to Raquia Omar, a prominent Somali, and former head of the Human Rights Group, Africa Watch, “We are wrong to see clans as only negative.” Clans provide a strong band of people that have the same interest and history. They speak the same language and practice th...
Nelson, Jack. Is religion killing us?violence in the Bible and the Quran / Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer.. 2003 Print.
In the Africa, lies the country Somalia, which is located on east coast of the continent. Its capital, Mogadishu, however has inconveniently brought its own problems, from colonization to politics, disagreements arise, causing tension throughout the country. Somalia’s historical background and culture ultimately lead to the war in its capital, it lead to the War of Mogadishu.