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    Mogadishu

    It feels wrong not to have a thread about this (for all the good that posting threads does after something like this has happened) but one of the largest terrorist attacks of the century took place at the weekend when a truck bomb in Mogadishu killed over 300 people after the driver detonated it near a fuel truck, causing a fireball that engulfed an entire street. Jason Burke has written that the perpetrator may have been motivated by an attack by US forces on his hometown that killed ten civilians two months ago.

    The death toll is simply staggering. But it also underlines the extent to which there is a war going on that we hardly ever see.
    Last edited by Johnny Velvet; 18-10-2017, 11:28. Reason: Spelling

    #2
    You're right, it shouldn't go without a thread, it was absolutely hideous.

    It suddenly occurred to me today - is there an OTFer based there?

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      #3
      VT is there from time to time I think. I had the same thought, and am not sure if he's been on here since the bomb

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        #4
        I knew there was someone. He's mainly in Kenya I think. He was on X11 yesterday.

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          #5
          I was in Nairobi on Saturday - I tend to do a week a month, but haven't been for a while. We had one staff member in the hotel that was attacked - he escaped with mostly minor injuries and has been airlifted out to Nairobi. The whole office is giving blood at the UN building tomorrow and it's being taken straight to Mogadishu.

          It's a truly dreadful event. So many innocent victims. And it's going to put back the peace process even further. We discussed the whole thing in work today. Years of instability, millions displaced. And not an end in sight. I don't know what the solution is, but it's obvious that the current process simply isn't working. It is very sad, and I'm not sure where we go from here.

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            #6
            I forget who is fighting who there. It’s hard to keep track of all the violence and despair in the world. It’s just beyond words.

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              #7
              I occasionally read things that suggest Somalia is in better shape than 5, or 10, or 15 years ago. And then something like this happens and you realise that the steps forward are so small, and so fragile, that it's unclear if they're really steps forward at all.

              Meanwhile, what little I read of Hargeisa and Somaliland suggests that - unlike Rump Somalia - it's actually doing comparatively well and is fairly stable. Which leads to the question of whether Somaliland should slowly expand; or whether the loss of the economic wealth of Somaliland has further damaged the Mogadishu government and reunion is an essential part of any working outcome; or whether it's better to let the "successful" half of the divorce continue to be successful and just let Mogadishu-Somalia sort itself out over whatever extended period that would take.

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                #8
                Yes, ditto VT and hope your colleague is on the mend.

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by Reginald Christ
                  Good to hear you're okay, VT.

                  Does anyone have any recommendations for a good primer on the situation in Somalia?
                  It all depends on how far you want to go back - and whether you want articles or a book. Happy to recommend.

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                    #10
                    For a good general understanding of politics and power in the Horn, I'd recommend 'The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa: Money, War and the Business of Power' by Alex de Waal. To understand the particular problems that Somalia has faced - and continues to face, try 'Getting Somalia Wrong?: Faith, War and Hope in a Shattered State' by Mary Harper. And for a genuinely gripping personal account of life in Somalia in the 1940s, I'd recommend 'Warriors: Life and Death Among the Somalis' by Gerald Hanley. Rageh Omar's articles are always worth reading too.

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