http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/somalia/articles/20070425.aspx
I'm big enough of a man to admit when I'm wrong. Thanks to Eritrea and its deathly hatred of Ethiopia (remind anyone of Iran?) there is an ongoing insurgency in Somalia. I say 'insurgency'. Its difficult to know what to call a conflict where 'the Hawiye (a clan name) coalition of clans on one side and the Darod (another clan) coalition [are] on the other. The Hawiye are backed by Eritrea and Islamic radicals, while Darod is allied with Ethiopia and the many nations that helped put the Transitional Government together.' Proxy war between two of Somalia's neighbors? Islamists and armed thugs vs Ethiopian troops and Somali Govmt ragamuffins? Anybody got a clue whats REALLY at stake? I mean, other than a few thousand square miles of scrubby desert? Apart from the Jihadi's, has anybody got a genuine motivation? Saying that, a couple of years ago Ethiopia and Eritrea had a war over much less (a strip of nothingy desert on their respective border), so I guess they don't require much.
What seems to be missing from the scene is any genuine sense that Somalians want peace rather than scrappy incessant low-scale war. Weird.