Al Shabab and Famine in Somalia

Sandro Krkljes

In the information available over the last couple of weeks regarding some of the issues Somalia faces today, the three most important events surrounding the country are dealing with a failed state, the Al Shabab insurgency and the food crisis.  Out of the three, the failed state issue is the most important issue surrounding the country for various reasons.  Because Somalia is a failed state, the country must deal not only with political concerns but also has various economic and social problems. The insurgency led by Al Shabab, one of Africa’s most fearsome militant Islamist groups with ties to Al Qaeda, began back in 2006.  In the case of Somalia, the Shabab have been a group that has controlled most of Southern Somalia and has caused much terror and suffering in the land. The Shabab insurgency also ties into the food crisis that Somalia is facing because the organization has blocked food coming into the country from various international relief groups.  The United States and the pentagon have intervened to fight Al Shabab and although there has been some success, it has also been a difficult fight due to the landscape and demographic of the country. Another issue facing Somalia is the food crisis that has been described as a famine.  The United Nations declared that a famine is caused when “acute malnutrition rates among children exceed 30 percent, more than 2 people per 10,000 die per day and people are not able to access food and other basic necessities.”  Millions of people, approximately 3.7 million, have been on the brink of starvation.  Many in Somalia have crossed the borders of Ethiopia and Kenya to flee the continuing crisis.  Another issue in the food crisis is theft.  One organization that has taken a stand is the United Nations World Food Program in investigating the theft of thousands of supplies and sacks of grain.  The food and supplies were intended for millions of victims of famine and you can imagine how this theft has affected these people.