Finally, it seems that a peace agreement for Somalia has been signed in Nairobi, Kenya. The country of Kenya itself has recovered from his share of violence. Back in December of 2007, Kenya went down the path of violence as a result of the elections in which Mwai Kibaki was reelected as the country’s president. Violence had followed for weeks until a new power sharing deal was reached. Opposition leader Raila Odinga had become Kenya’s first Prime Minister.
The country of Somalia itself has been plagued by warfare for the longest time. For the longest time, Somalia has been without a functioning central government. An interim government was formed back in 2004; but, it has proven ineffective. Ethiopia has been providing Somalia’s interim government with military support. Without support from Ethiopia, Somalia would be screwed.
Several days ago, the talks that took place in Eritrea produced little effort. While a peace agreement has been made, there is still a humanitarian crisis in the country. The International Red Cross has said that the crisis in Somalia is the worst of all in Africa.
Under this agreement, Ethiopian troops must withdraw from the country. Many have blamed the Ethiopian military and the Islamic insurgents for the violence. While this is a first step towards peace, it seems that there will be those that will not agree to this. The hard line members of the insurgency had denounced those taking part in such talks.
Such members reside in the Al-Shabab, the military arm of the Islamic insurgency. It is still considered a terrorist organization.
Ever since the presence of Ethiopian troops, there has been a boom of bloody attacks by the Islamic insurgency.
Overall, this agreement is a first step. But, this will be a rough and turbulent first step towards peace in Somalia.