Another Iraq In The Horn Of Africa?

From Newsweek -- Somalia: Dilemmas Of The Horn

The jihadist leads a double life. By day he's a government functionary in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Standing in the shade of a crumbling, Mussolini-era balcony, a phone headset clipped to his ear, he affects a casual, corporate air. But then he pulls his blue oxford shirt aside to reveal a fresh bullet scar. He spies on his co-workers, he admits, and feeds information about them to the Islamist rebels who are laying siege to Mogadishu. "God willing, we'll take over the country soon," he tells a NEWSWEEK reporter, one of the few Western journalists who have ventured into Somalia in months. The State Department recently added al-Shabaab (meaning "youth") to its list of terrorist organizations, making the group a target for attacks by U.S. forces operating in the Horn of Africa. The jihadist is unconcerned. "We're like a centipede," he says. "You cut off one of our legs, we just keep going."

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Update: Dozen Killed In Fierce Fighting In Somalia -- MSNBC

Update #2: Deadly Clashes Erupt In Mogadishu -- BBC News

My Comment: Like the previous civil war in Angola, this is a conflict that is going to last for decades.

Somalia Is 'The Forgotten Crisis'

From The BBC:

The lives of up to 15,000 children are at risk in Somalia unless emergency aid arrives in the next two weeks, the UN children's agency, Unicef, has warned.

"It is the forgotten crisis," Unicef's Christian Balslev-Olesen told the BBC, saying Somalia was the world's worst place for children.

Without extra funding, emergency feeding programmes could be closed down next month, he warned.

He said fighting had created "a time-bomb" of people living in camps.

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My Comment: The last time Western forces were in Somalia we had the "Blackhawk Down" episode. After Afghanistan and Iraq, there is little if any will in the West to be actively involved in this conflict. Will Africa become involved .... using half measures they will publicly talk about their commitment, but on the ground this participation will be very limited. Africa has enough problems that have the potential to make Somalia just a minor family dispute.