Is Somalia?
In the East African nation of Somalia, widespread famine has killed millions of people, while millions more are suffering from malnutrition and starvation. A deadly epidemic of cholera is now sweeping through the countrys already poor, malnourished and vulnerable population, while a violent and bloody internal war rages on.
While the latest news reports suggest that some progress is finally being made to bring assistance and peace to the people of Somalia, the country is currently considered one of the most dangerous and troubled places in the world.
Somalia is located in a region known as the Horn of Africa, a part of Eastern Africa that includes the nations of Ethiopia, Djibouti and Sudan. It is shaped like the number seven, or a sideways letter V, two legs of land meeting at a sharp point.
Somalia is bordered to the west by Ethiopia, to the southwest by Kenya, and to the north, across the Gulf of Aden, lays Yemen. The northern wing of Somalia also shares a small western border with Djibouti.
In 1960, Britain and Italy withdrew their claims on two different regions of coastal eastern Africa, and the two regions joined together to become the sovereign nation of Somalia. A rigid regime that brutalized political opponents and dissidents came to power, but in 1991, an uprising of competing clans toppled that government and Somalias president fled the country.
Since then, Somalia has been embroiled in a war between feuding factions, clans and gangs. The official governments that have tried to restore order have been weak and corrupt, and Somalia has been considered a virtually lawless land since then.
Somalia experienced one of its worst famines in 1992 and Americans went into the country to protect food being delivered there. In 1993, a US military operation in Mogadishu, Somalias capital resulted in two Black Hawk helicopters being shot down resulting in the deaths of 19 American soldiers. At the time, it was considered at the bloodiest battle the US military had engaged in two decades. This battle is commonly known as Black Hawk Down.
In 2006, an Islamist militant group named Al Shabab took control of southern Somalia. Al Shabab is considered one of the most violent terrorist groups in Africa, and claims to be linked to Al Qaeda, the terror group that attacked the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001.
Somalia has also produced a modern-day generation of high-seas pirates that have been terrorizing the Arabian Sea for several years. In February of 2011, Somali pirates killed four American hostages in the deadliest act of Somalian piracy to date.
Somalia is mostly desert with very little land suitable for farming and growing crops. However, because of the gangs that control much of Somalia, it is very difficult and dangerous for humanitarian groups and governments to deliver aid and help the people of Somalia.
The gangs and corrupt warlords often block food and supplies from reaching the people, stealing it for themselves. This is happening now in Somalia, and the United Nations estimates that four million people are in crisis because of the famine, the cholera outbreak, and the unstable and violent political situation there.
