Mogadishu Blast: Attack in Somali Capital - Research Paper Example

In the west, the country boarders Kenya, sharing a 682-kilometre boarder. It lies on the coast of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, having a coastline of approximately 3,025 kilometres (Hadden 6). The country strategically placed at the horn of Africa extends through the red sea and the Suez Canal. Due to its long coastline, Somali has been of great importance for the Middle East and the rest of the eastern Africa region. According to Hadden (6), the population of Somalia over a generation ago was approximately 8591000 people.

However, the last comprehensive census conducted on the country took place in 1975. The country, being arid and semi-arid receives inadequate rainfall. Therefore, most of the people in the country practice nomadic pastoralism, herding cattle, sheep, goats, and camel. Only a small percentage of the population practice agriculture at the regions bordering river Juba and Shebelle. Cultivation is only possible in the areas of the country with dark fertile soils (Hadden 6). Pre-colonial, “traditional” societies Somalia, currently a country in turmoil has a rich history in its clan organization and the socialization of its people.

Culturally, the Somaliland comprises mostly of the Cushitic ethnic group of people, spreading from the Eritrea region to the Northern region of its neighbouring country Kenya. Although the group has an elaborate clan system, they embrace their individualism and independence (Shuke 5). However, the society comprising of a single community increases the cohesion of the Somali people. Religiously, most of the people in the Somaliland are Muslims. This is because Islam was the oldest religion introduced to the region, even before the colonial era.

Ethnic groups in the Somali country include Bajuni people of the east African Swahili region living along the coastal settlements of Kismayo. These people speak Kibajuni as their traditional and cultural language and Chimwinii, both of which are Swahili language dialects. Reer Hamar, also known as Benadiri are an urban group of people living in the coastal region of Somalia. Bantu speaking communities, who traditionally are agriculturalists, live along river Juba. In addition to these ethnic communities, there are also people of Arab origin who live in Somali (Hadden 7).

Anthropologists observe that from the 10th century, Somaliland has a history of various successive waves of migration across the country. The first major movement in relation to the Somali migration took place during the arrival of the sheik Ismail Jabarati, the founder of the Doran clan, which took place between the 10th and 11th century. Two centuries later, Sheikh Isaaq, the founder of Sheikh Isaaq clan also from Arabia arrived in the country of Somali (Dostal and Wolfgang 286). The continuous arrival of Arabs in the country complemented these movements.

Since the two early settlements had introduced Islamic religion in the country, subsequent arrival of Arabs in the Somali region helped in strengthening the religion in the country. However, it was not until the 19th century that the Europeans developed interests in the country. The arrival and exploration of the coastline by Sir Richard burton in April 1855 led to the launch of an expedition in the country. There was however a raid on his camp in the on 19th April. During the raid, one of his levitations died, while another sustained serious injuries. As a