Somalia’s Sad War Within

Another murderous civil war--fueled again by a cruel dictator, corruption and traditional rivalries--threatens in Africa. The fierce fighting approaches anarchy in Somalia.

President Mohammed Siad Barre must shoulder most of the blame for the conflict in the Horn of Africa. He has ruled with an iron fist for more than two decades. He has filled top posts with relatives, and kept the wealth within his clan while others starve. He has unleashed his soldiers to kill protesters, including thousands of civilians.

Siad Barre took control nine years after the small East African nation gained independence from Italy and England in 1960. At the start of his reign he promised to hold free elections. He reneged--although elections are finally scheduled for next month, a reform that came too late to stop the outbreak of fighting.

The intensity of the fighting stems from substantial foreign military support provided during the Cold War. The Soviet Union--mindful of Somalia’s proximity to the Middle East--built military bases and armed the small nation in its longstanding border war with Ethiopia. In 1977 the Soviets shifted their allegiance to Ethiopia and Siad Barre opportunistically sought support from the West.

Washington complied during the Carter and Reagan adminstrations, and provided more than $100 million in economic and military aid to Somalia between 1986 and 1988. That generosity ended last year as a result of increasing human rights abuses.

Still, both government soldiers and the rebel groups are now well-armed enough to fight with rocket-launchers and ultramodern machine guns. The conflict rivals the intensity of the civil war in Angola, another African battleground in the Cold War. Civilian casualties are high, and starvation is forcing refugees to flee in a parallel to Liberia’s recent civil war.

Siad Barre called for a cease-fire before he disappeared last week. But the fighting rages on. Sadly, it appears that once again war may be the price of democracy in Africa.