Fighting between the Ethiopian-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and Islamist insurgents and nationalists continues to rage on in Somalia. Throughout the last month over 61,000 people have been displaced by fighting the war-torn country, including 5,500 people uprooted from the capital Mogadishu over the past week. In addition to the displaced, 80 civilians have reportedly been killed and hundreds more wounded. The recent violence erupting in Mogadishu over the past month has been some the worst to hit the city in a year, where since January over 160,000 people have been displaced. The lack of an effective government, drought, and constant violence has led to an estimated 3.2 million people, 43 percent of the total population, to be in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
Who are the key players in anarchic Somalia? What is the international community doing to work towards peace? How is the United States involved in fighting al-Qaeda in Somalia? Join us tonight (Wednesday) at 9pm EST for a discussion on Somalia to talk about these key questions and more. Just hop on this informal Emerging Conflicts call by dialing 269-320-8300 and punching in the code 349902#.Looking forward to hearing from you then!