History

The 12-Day War to destroy Iran and reshape the Middle East

Broken Trust: The 12-Day War and the Death of Diplomacy

The recent 12-day war on Iran did not erupt in a vacuum. It was the culmination of years of shadow war, nuclear brinksmanship, and shifting regional alliances.

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Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Erdogan’s Journey to Restructure Turkish Society

For the first time since the founding of the republic in 1923, the Turkish nation has voted overwhelmingly to give President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a clear mandate to continue his journey of reshaping Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s century-old legacy in Turkey. Yet, fears about an Islamist agenda persist. But are they justifiable? And is a total […]

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Las Anod Protest

Why Somaliland’s Attempt to Subdue Las Anod is Doomed

The war to control Las Anod is in its eighth day and despite public outcry and international condemnation over the atrocities committed, is not about to end. Somaliland’s stubbornness to subdue the Sool, Sanaag and Cayn region despite the locals’ rejection of secession is hard to understand given the lessons from our history.

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Las Anod being shelled by the SNM

Las Anod: Under a Rain of Bullets and Shells

Since Monday, the day when the public consultation conference chaired by the local Garaads, traditional chiefs, was preparing to make public their agreement on the Sool, Sanaag and Cayn (SSC) region self-rule, the city of Las Anod has been subjected to a rain of bullets and shells. The shelling of Las Anod and surrounding fighting […]

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1969 Revolutionary Council

Why the 1969 Revolution is still relevant today

Today is the anniversary of the October 21, 1969 revolution that put the armed forces in control of Somalia. It all started with a bloodless coup after the assassination of the first democratically elected president, Abdirashi Ali Sharmarke, on October 15, 1969.

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Cafe de Paris

Victims Remember the Café de Paris Crackdown

Djibouti’s Gadabursi community and friends commemorates the fateful attack on the Café de Paris that occurred in Djibouti on September 27, 1990.

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Western flirtation with Al-Shabab

The Pragmatic Embrace: A History of Western Flirtation with Al-Shabab Elements

Western flirtation with Al-Shabab elements stems from a recurring chapter in a history where the “war on terror” continuously negotiates with the very terror it seeks to end, creating a cycle of militant-politicians whose power derives from the violence they once wielded and now promise, incompletely, to suppress.

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Somali puzzle

The 4.5 Clan Model: A Somali-owned Solution

For decades, Somalia has been using a clan-power sharing model known as “4.5”. Some believe the model has an external origin (Sodere, 1997) and was institutionalized in the Arta (2000) peace process, in Djibouti. In reality, the initial shape of this model was locally devised in January 1991.

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Canadian forces abuses

Canadian Forces Abuses In Somalia, 29 Years Later

Canadian soldiers sent to Somalia as part of the global humanitarian effort captured a 16 year-old child named Shidane Abukar Arone and viciously tortured him to death in their camp.

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Dila Massacre 1991

Dila Massacre 1991

The Dila Massacre, the focal atrocity, involved a series of clan-based mass executions carried out by rebels of the Somali National Movement (SNM), dominated by the Isaaq clan, against the townspeople just after the collapse of the Somali government in early February 1991.

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