The warlords have controlled the capital since they toppled Somalia’s last effective government 15 years ago. A meeting is now being held to discuss the surrender of fighters still loyal to the warlords .

Somalia is a tiny African country on the east coast in a narrow strip of land resembling a spade, bordering the Arabian peninsula, separated by the Gulf of Aden. Ships coming from the Suez Canal and going towards the Indian Ocean have to pass through the Strait of Hormuz — a strategically important stretch of ocean between the Gulf of Oman in the southeast and the Arabian Gulf in the southwest.

Somalia too is strategically important, being close to such trading transit points between Europe, Asia and Africa. But with no effective government in place, the country is going from bad to worse to probably the worst. The CIA is backing the warlords as they consider the Islamic Courts a terrorist grouping shielding the Al Qaeda. But as far as Somalia and the world is concerned, there is no difference between the two, as none of them is going to bring peace to the unfortunate country. Somalia, as a country, in fact, has had no government worth the name for the last 15 years, and so there is obviously no rule of law, with warring factions trying to establish their domains and fiefdoms on this tiny strip of territory.

Much of the country is ruled by the warlords who establish their own local laws. With no effective government in place at the national, federal level, few countries have their diplomats and embassies in the capital Mogadishu. The over eight million Somali citizens probably do not have genuine passports either.

The constantly warring country, engaged in internecine tribal and feudal conflicts, is as far removed from civilisation as can be. While the world has been generous with most of Africa, giving huge sums of aid gathered through concerts, campaigns and collection drives, most of the money gathered has ended up in the hands of the warlords. Donation to poverty-stricken, Saharan Africa from the generous coffers of the western countries has often gone down the drain, probably lost in the vast, expansive desert wastes. All the humanitarian gestures towards helping Somalia and other such countries in Africa have thus lost their meaning and purpose.