The London Somalia Conference was a diplomatic conference hosted by the Government of the United Kingdom, which took place in London on 23 February 2012. Attended by Somali government officials and members of the international community, it focused on resolving issues that have arisen in Somalia in the wake of the civil war. [1]
The London Somalia Conference was the latest of 20 international conferences on Somalia that have been conducted since the outbreak of the civil war in the country. [2] According to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the meeting aimed to come up with a new approach by addressing both the root causes and effects of local problems. [1]
The conference was attended by representatives of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG), as well as the Presidents of the autonomous Puntland, Somaliland and Galmudug regions and Ahlu Sunnah wal Jamaah (ASWJ). In addition, officials from about 50 governments and from various international organizations took part, including the United Nations, African Union, European Union, World Bank, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States. [1] The Al-Shabaab militant group, which controls parts of south-central Somalia, was not invited to participate in the meeting. [2] The meeting was held at Lancaster House.
In the build-up to the conference, Somali and global stakeholders convened with the British authorities to discuss the meeting's key areas of concern. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office indicated that sustained political commitment and tangible action would be necessary and that the involved parties would need to support and build upon the existing work of the Somali civil society groups, the UN, AU and NGOs. It also stated that although progress would likely be gradual, it hoped the conference would serve as a catalyst and perhaps eventually come to be regarded as a turning point. [1] British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the international community's focus should be on assisting the Somali authorities' extant efforts at strengthening security and establishing a representative government, and on assuring delivery of humanitarian assistance to vulnerable areas. [3]
According to the planners of the conference, there were seven specific areas of interest for which they hoped to agree on a series of practical measures: [1]
According to Reuters correspondents, the situation in Somalia may not be easy to change as many actors derive benefits from the lack of a strong central authority, including some politicians, power brokers, militants, pirate kingpins, smugglers, traders, financiers and aid contractors. Attempts at reform have consequently often been sabotaged. [4] However, British Foreign Minister William Hague indicated that the time was ripe for international collaboration on Somalia since there were "glimmers of hope" in the lead-up to the meeting, among which Hague cited the ousting of militants from the capital Mogadishu, a successful anti-terrorism policy, progress on the piracy issue, and the chance to establish a more broad-based, representative federal government after the interim administration's mandate ends in August. [2]
In addition, Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali stated that while he believed his nation was "moving into an era of peace, stability and normalcy", the comprehensive, Marshall Plan-like reconstruction scheme that he had hoped for was unlikely. [3]
Campaigners also charged that the conference was not meant to address piracy or terrorism-related issues, but was instead a bid by the British government to protect its own economic interests in the strategically important and oil-rich Horn of Africa. As a consequence, they were reportedly organizing demonstrations in protest of the meeting. [5]
The Al-Shabaab group of Islamists issued a press release condemning the meeting as the talks kicked off. Describing the gathering as "not in any way different from the various other conferences aimed at bolstering the invading African forces that are prolonging the instability in Somalia", the group characterized the meeting's signatories as agenda-driven. It also reaffirmed its "position that we will not under any circumstances allow any form of foreign intervention to be used as an instrument to subjugate the Muslims of Somalia and that we will confront and counter, by any means possible, all the outcomes of the London Conference". [6]
During the talks, members of the Somali Twitter community were reportedly outraged by what they felt was a disproportionate emphasis on piracy and terrorism and a simultaneous under-representation of Somali voices. Many users also expressed misgivings over the meeting's purpose, believing that the conference was organized to secure foreign interests. Among the various speakers present during the morning session, only the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's statements, including his insistence that the international community "cannot hold conferences away from Somalia... we have to be there", appeared to strike a chord. [7]
The London Conference For Somalia ended with several resolutions. Describing the opportunity for change as "real", US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that the international community's emphasis in Somalia had now shifted from preventive to reconstructive tasks. Clinton also indicated that her administration would lobby for the imposition of sanctions on all parties impeding progress made by the Somali Transitional Federal Government. She cited among the latter preemptive measures travel bans and asset freezes, and pledged an additional $64 million in aid to the region. [3]
According to British Foreign Minister William Hague, conference participants affirmed their support for the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia's scheduled August 2012 shift from an interim administration to a permanent representative government and underscored the need for an inclusive political process. They also agreed to create a new counter-piracy center and to prosecute kingpins, ransom negotiators and intermediaries. In addition, attendees upheld existing plans to establish a joint financial management board to ensure a transparent dispensation of Somali and donor funds. They also pledged support for Somalia's stable regions, agreeing to form a new fund earmarked for local dispute resolution, job creation, basic service delivery and development of government sectors. [8]
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon pressed the conference's participants to build on recent successes, after the capture of the strategic southern town of Baidoa from the Al-Shabaab group of militants and a UN vote to expand the AMISOM peacekeeping force to 17,000 soldiers. [3]
A follow-up meeting was scheduled to be held in June 2012 in Istanbul. [3]
The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed Forces began engaging in combat against various armed rebel groups, including the Somali Salvation Democratic Front in the northeast, the Somali National Movement in the northwest, and the United Somali Congress in the south. The clan-based armed opposition groups overthrew the Barre government in 1991.
Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is a Somali politician who served as President of Somalia from 2009 to 2012. He is the founder and leader of Himilo Qaran political party and also the founder and head of the Forum for National Parties of Somalia. He is the chairperson of the Council of Presidential Candidates of Somalia.
The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was internationally recognized as a provisional government of the Republic of Somalia from April 2004 until 20 August 2012, when its tenure officially ended and the Federal Government of Somalia was inaugurated.
The Somalia War, also known as the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia or Ethiopian intervention in Somali Civil War was an armed conflict involving largely Ethiopian and Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces and Somali troops from Puntland versus the Somali Islamist umbrella group, the Islamic Court Union (ICU), and other affiliated militias for control of Somalia.
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was a regional peacekeeping mission operated by the African Union with the approval of the United Nations Security Council. It was mandated to support transitional governmental structures, implement a national security plan, train the Somali security forces, and to assist in creating a secure environment for the delivery of humanitarian aid. As part of its duties, AMISOM supported the Federal Government of Somalia's forces in their battle against Al-Shabaab militants.
The transitional federal government (TFG) was the government of Somalia between 2004 and 2012. Established 2004 in Djibouti through various international conferences, it was an attempt to restore national institutions to the country after the 1991 collapse of the Siad Barre government and the ensuing Somali Civil War.
Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, more commonly known as al-Shabaab, is a Somalia-based terrorist jihadist fundamentalist group active in East Africa and Yemen. The group describes itself as waging jihad against "enemies of Islam" and is engaged in combat against the Federal Government of Somalia and the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM). The group has been suspected of having links with al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb and Boko Haram. Due to its Wahhabi roots, al-Shabaab is hostile to Sufi traditions and has often clashed with the Somali Sufi militia Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a. Al-Shabaab’s leaders and commanders are mainly from the Hawiye clan, which is one of the largest clans in Somalia. It has attracted some members from Western countries, including Briton Samantha Lewthwaite and American Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki.
The 2009–present phase of the Somali Civil War is concentrated in southern and central Somalia and portions of north eastern Kenya. It began in early February 2009 with the conflict between the forces of the Federal Government of Somalia, assisted by African Union peacekeeping troops, and various militant groups and factions. The violence has displaced thousands of people in the southern part of the country. The civil war has also seen fighting between the Sufi Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a and al-Shabaab.
Two large-scale attacks against AMISOM soldiers carried out by al-Shabaab suicide bombers in Mogadishu, Somalia occurred in 2009. In total 32 people, including 28 AMISOM soldiers, were killed and 55 people were injured.
The Battle of Mogadishu (2009) started in May with an Islamist offensive, when rebels from al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam attacked and captured government bases in the capital of Mogadishu. The fighting soon spread, causing hundreds of casualties, and continued on at various levels of intensity until October. The battle's name usually includes the year, when referenced, in order to distinguish it amongst the nine major Battles of Mogadishu during the decades long Somali Civil War.
The 2009 Hotel Shamo bombing was a suicide bombing at the Hotel Shamo in Mogadishu, Somalia, on 3 December 2009. The bombing killed 25 people, including three ministers of the Transitional Federal Government, and injured 60 more, making it the deadliest attack in Somalia since the Beledweyne bombing on 18 June 2009 that claimed more than 30 lives.
The Battle of Mogadishu (2010–11) began on 23 August 2010 when al-Shabaab insurgents began attacking government and African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) positions in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab began its offensive after its spokesman said the group was declaring a "massive war" on troops sent by AMISOM, describing its 6,000 peacekeepers as "invaders". In December 2010 the number of AMISOM troops was increased to 8,000 and later to 9,000. The battle's name usually includes the years, when referenced, in order to distinguish it amongst the nine major Battles of Mogadishu during the decades long Somali Civil War.
The 2011 Mogadishu bombing occurred on 4 October 2011, when a suicide bomber drove a truck into the gate of the Transitional Federal Government's ministerial complex in Mogadishu, Somalia. The resulting explosion killed 100 people and injured over 110 others. Al-Shabaab, an Islamist group, claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack is reported to be the largest since Al-Shabaab launched an insurgency in Somalia in early 2007. It also follows the withdrawal of Al-Shabaab's forces from the area in August after an AMISOM intervention to bring aid to the country during a season of drought.
Operation Linda Nchi was an operation where the Kenya Defence Forces entered southern Somalia beginning in 2011. The Kenyan government declared the operation completed in March 2012, but its forces then joined AMISOM in Somalia.
This is a 2012 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
This is a 2014 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
Operation Indian Ocean was a joint military operation between the Somali military, AMISOM and the United States military against the Al-Shabaab militant group in southern Somalia. It officially began in August 2014.
This is a 2015 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
This article contains a timeline of events for the Somali jihadist group Al-Shabaab.
On 18 January 2020, a suicide car bombing killed four and injured at least 20 others in Afgooye, approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Most of the casualties were police officers protecting Turkish contractors building a road. The al-Qaeda-linked extremist group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.
