Causes Of The Somali Civil War

The next cause of the Somali Civil War is the prevalence of clans in Somalia. The role of clans in Somalia is an important social unit in Somalia just as it is in the rest of Africa. Upon saying that, there is a lot of division that goes into the formation of these clans despite the fact Somalia is very homogenous and the population is 99% Somalian (Terdman 2008, 12). Due to this, the vast majority of its citizens share both a common language and a common culture. (Woods 1997, 1) Still, clans are often split up in to sub-sections through patrilineal lineages (Elmi and Barise 2006, 6). One sub-clan in Somalia is estimated to consist of 100,000 members (Terdman 2008, 13). One of the most dominant clans is the Hawiye. Members of this clan live …show more content…
They are a cause of the Somali Civil War as they led to the power vacuum in Somalia today. Though many of these clans were in favor of ousting Barre, there was no real solution on how the government would resume if they succeeded in ousting Barre (Terdman 34, 2008). After the ousting of Barre, there was a major power vacuum. Despite ousting Barre, the clans created even more violence. As a result of the power vacuum, these clans competed for the vacant power left by the Barre regime which led to a massive power struggle (Terdman 36, 2008). Clans such as the Majeerteen would not join peace talks that would have at least quelled the violence in some regions. Upon saying that, it can be argued that despite the brutality of the Barre regime, the clans’ opposition of Barre and eventual disposal of Barre created a bigger problem in the form of the giant power vacuum created as a result. Even today, there is still no major faction that controls Somalia. In ousting Barre, they account for the responsibility of the power vacuum left today. Upon saying this, the answer to my research question for clans would be that by leading the charge in ousting Barre they created the giant power vacuum that started the Somali Civil War and since continues today due to the major factions that still compete for …show more content…
The three main causes of this are the brutality of the Barre regime, the role of clans in the ousting of the Barre regime as well as the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Barre regime led to the uprising of angry citizens due to authoritarian and socialist system Barre installed, the clans created a power vacuum that created the anarchy and chaos of the Somali Civil War and the collapse of the Soviet Union led to an initial support from the United States but ultimately the abandonment of the United States in their bilateral relation with Somalia. Though this war has still had massive effects on the population of Somalia today, hopefully peace can be made soon and an end to the suffering these people have endured will be made