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1 1 (April 10, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govzfv0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Cogesoa Reeac Servic Updated April 10, 2019 Somalia Rebuilding the State Somalia has been plagued by instability and humanitarian crisis for decades. Since the collapse of the authoritarian Siad Barre regime in 1991, there have been numerous attempts to reunite Somalia's regions, clans, and sub-clans under a credible central authority capable of exerting territorial control and providing services and security for the Somali people. The formation of a federal government in 2012 was a turning point, but Somalia still faces considerable challenges on the path to stability. Over the past decade, international donors have expanded their engagement and increased their focus on development aid, seeking to build resilience to drought; bolster economic growth, access to government services, and political reconciliation; expand critical infrastructure; and improve governance and the rule of law. With the support of donors and an African Union (AU) stabilization force (known as AMISOM), the country has made progress: some now consider Somalia a fragile state, rather than a failed one. Political infighting, clan competition, corruption, and contradictory visions for Somalia's system of government all complicate the way forward, however, as does an enduring Islamist insurgency. Somalia has not held direct one-person one-vote elections in decades. Foreign officials viewed the 2012 presidential election, in which parliamentarians elected the president after an internationally supported selection process and the adoption of a provisional constitution, as a credible effort to reestablish central governance. In 2013, the United States officially recognized the Somali government for the first time in 22 years, highlighting fragile improvements, both in terms of political developments and advances against Al Shabaab, an affiliate of Al Qaeda. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) also adjusted their positions on Somalia, making the country eligible for policy advice and technical assistance. The UK was the first Western country to reopen its embassy in Somalia, followed by China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and most East African countries. The United States reestablished a permanent diplomatic presence in the capital, Mogadishu, in late 2018. Somalia experienced a peaceful political transition in 2017, when the parliament elected former prime minister and dual U.S.-Somali national Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, aka Farmajo, to the presidency over the incumbent. Farmajo's government has been hamstrung by infighting, corruption, and tensions with Somalia's federal states. Competition among Arab Gulf states, which are among Somalia's largest investors and trade partners, has exacerbated frictions between the federal and state governments. These tensions may undermine U.S. policy interests in Somalia as the country moves toward elections expected in 2020/2021. Figure I. Somalia Facts Source: CRS graphic. Map data from Department of State and Esri, Fact information from CIA World Factbook and IMF, 2018. Recent Security Deve opments Challenges to stabilizing and securing the Somali state are substantial. Military offensives by AMISOM and allied Somali, Kenyan, and Ethiopian forces facilitated critical gains against Al Shabaab in 2011-2012, pushing the group out of Mogadishu and other major southern cities and ports and depriving it of valuable revenue sources. Subsequent offensives reclaimed additional towns and key bases. Al Shabaab has proven resilient, however. It still controls parts of southern and central Somalia, earning revenue by taxing agricultural production, livestock, and illicit trades in charcoal and sugar. It has launched complex assaults on AMISOM bases that have killed hundreds of troops and prompted the mission to realign forces, pulling back from some areas that insurgents have since reoccupied. Al Shabaab also continues to conduct attacks in Mogadishu, likely seeking to undermine confidence in the government and its security measures. In 2016, an Al Shabaab suicide bomber on a Somali airliner detonated a bomb concealed in a laptop computer; it detonated before the plane reached cruising altitude and did not destroy the aircraft. In October 2017, a truck bombing in Mogadishu (attributed to Al Shabaab, though it did not claim responsibility) killed over 500. In January 2019, Al Shabaab showed its ability to hit targets inside the heavily-guarded Mogadishu International Airport complex with mortars, striking the U.N. compound. Many diplomatic facilities and residences are located in the complex, including those of the United States. Over a decade since AMISOM's deployment to Somalia, the timeline for its exit is uncertain. Per U.N. Security Council resolutions and a 2017 agreement between Somalia and major donors, AMISOM and Somalia's international security partners are expected to help build the Somali security sector so that the AU mission can gradually hand over responsibilities and withdraw. Various factors have stymied those efforts, including funding shortfalls, limited donor coordination, insufficient institutional development, government dysfunction, and corruption.

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