8/23/2006: The threat of a full-scale war erupting in Somalia is now a real possibility as Ethiopia sends more troops into Somalia to back the Somali Transitional Government in Baidoa, while Eritrea appears to be supplying arms to the Islamic Courts Union, which controls Mogadishu and much of the rest of the country (outside of the independent regions of Somaliland and Puntland). The Somali Transitional Government and the Islamic Courts had agreed to recognize each other under a deal brokered by the Arab League, but the Courts withdrew from talks on July 22nd in protest at Ethiopian intervention. Tensions have risen between the two sides since the Islamic Courts Union defeated the US-led warlord Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism and seized full control of the capital Mogadishu in June. Many cabinet ministers in the Somali Transitional Government have resigned amid mounting criticism over the deployment of Ethiopian troops inside Somalia.

The current war in Somalia is a portion of the US global "War on Terror" that has gotten very little coverage in the US media.
Mahir Ali writes for ZNet:

The US has long looked upon Somalia - the ultimate failed state in Africa, which has had no functioning central government since Mohammed Siad Barre was toppled in 1991 - as a likely hideout for Al Qaeda operatives, particularly those associated with acts of terrorism in East Africa. Somalia's proximity to Yemen has helped to reinforce that impression, leading to the assumption that Islamist elements in Somalia must necessarily have some links with Al Qaeda.

This may not be an entirely spurious line of thinking, but the manner in which the US chose to pre-empt any possible threat serves as yet another reminder of its unwillingness or inability to draw logical conclusions from its previous mistakes. In this case, it chose to align itself with the so-called warlords who had made life a misery for Somalis since the early 1990s and therefore inspired a visceral hatred among their compatriots.

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background

Britain, France, and Italy all made territorial claims to Somalia in the late 1800s, since the Somali port of Berbera was seen as being strategically important in controlling ship traffic through the Suez Canal (which had been finished in 1869). While Somalia remained nominally independent, European powers fought proxy wars with each other as well as with Egypt and Ethopia to maintain control over bases and economic assets. Italy emerged with control over most of the country before WWII, but with the victory of the Allies, the British military moved backed in, leaving Somalia with mainly Italian administrators but official British control. In 1959, Somalia was granted independence. Disputes started to emerge almost imediately, as some Somali groups demanded a 'Greater Somalia' with much of the focus being on the province of Ogaden, which had been given to Ethiopia by the British when the region was divided up after WWII. Disputes over the desire for a 'Greater Somalia' resulted in a coup in 1969, with Mahammad Siad Barre taking power.

Somalia was allied with the USSR for much of the Cold War, but this relationship came to a sudden end in 1977, when Somalia invaded Ogaden and the Soviets sided with Ethiopia (which was also a Soviet ally). The war resulted in the near destruction of the Somali military and allowed the US to trade aid for the ability to open bases in Somalia on the Red Sea coast.

Siad Barre's rule became increasingly oppressive. With the Cold War winding down, US aid finally came to an end in 1989, following the assassination of Somalia's Roman Catholic bishop and the massacre of 450 Muslims demonstrating against the arrest of their spiritual leaders. In January 1991, Barre, was overthrown by a coalition of opposing clans. In September 1991, severe fighting broke out in Mogadishu, which quickly spread throughout the country. Over 20,000 people were killed or injured by the end of the year. In December, 1992, the Bush White House launched a major coalition operation, Operation Restore Hope, to assist and protect humanitarian activities. Many Somalis opposed the foreign presence. In October, several gun battles in Mogadishu between local gunmen and peacekeepers resulted in the death of 24 Pakistanis and 19 US soldiers resulting in an end to the US lead operation.

After the collapse of the Somali government in 1991, a system of sharia-based Islamic courts had become the main judicial system, funded by fees paid by litigants. Over time, the courts began to offer other services such as education and health care. Supporters of the Islamic courts and other institutions united to form the ICU, an armed militia. In 1999 the group began to assert its authority. In April of that year they took control of the main market in Mogadishu and, in July, captured the road from Mogadishu to Afgoi.

As the courts began to assert themselves in Mogadishu., they came into conflict with the secular warlords who controlled most of the city. In reaction to the growing power of the ICU, and US concerns in its "War on Terrorism", a group of warlords (with covert US support) formed the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT). By the beginning of 2006, these two groups had repeatedly clashed, and in May 2006 it escalated into street fighting in the capital, claiming the lives of more than 300 people. On June 5th, 2006, the ICU won control of Mogadishu and the following day they claimed control of all the lands up to 100 kilometers inland from Mogadishu.

Aside from the ICU, the only other major power in central Somalia is now the Somali Transitional Government in Baidoa. The two other major power centers in the country are the governments of Puntland and Somaliland, both of which assert their autonomy or, in the case of Somaliland, independence. The rest of the country is controlled by other warlords.

Wikipedia Entry On History Of Somalia | Wikipedia Entry On The ICU | The Struggle for Somali: Warlords, Islamists, US Global Militarism and Women | The Long and Hidden History of the U.S in Somalia