From Civil War among Clans to War on Terror: The Regionalization and Internationalization of the Somali Conflict.

Authors : Mohamed Salah AHMED

Pages : 47-70

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Publication Date : 2020-10-01

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The collapse of the Somali military regime on 21, January 1991 was followed by a bloody civil war among clans which caused a severe humanitarian crisis that caught the mainstream media headlines. Nevertheless, most of the studies written about the civil war and its implications at the time have indicated as an internal conflict despite the ornament and momentum that gained within the literature. The emergence of armed Islamists alongside the US policies of counterterrorism after 9/11 has changed the nature and direction of the Somali conflict. The international community has created a peace operation or what seemed to be counterterrorism operations to contain the threats that armed Islamists pose to the regional and international security. Therefore, this article aims to reflect upon the birth of armed jihadist groups in Somalia, which turned the internal civil war and conflict into a regional and international security threat. Most notably, how the Islamists capitalized the foreign military interventions, meant to contain and dismantle their evolution and turned into their advantage. Besides, this paper aims at adding some new insights and significant understandings to the debates and literature of armed jihadists and their role in the Somali conflict in particular . 
Keywords : Civil war, armed jihadists