The Horn of Africa Conflict

Among the most far-reaching consequences of colonialism in Africa has been the partition of the continent into political units whose borders were determined on the basis of European interests. Where ethnic groups were divided by an artificial border, there is pressure for territorial revisions with the object of achieving unity within the borders of one state. Such pressures are at the root of the political problems of the Horn of Africa. The Ethiopian denial of the Ogaden Somalis rights for self-determination set the stage for an inevitable conflict, involving not merely the local Africans but outside governments and even the superpowers. The local conflict on the Horn permitted the application of Soviet power and militated against a commensurate Western response thus the Russian intervention reversed the outcome of the conflict in favor of Ethiopia militarily at the present time. The purpose of this paper is to describe the struggle of the Somalis for their freedom and complete independence from colonialism, in general, and the Ogaden Somalis, in particular, who are trying to achieve what their brothers achieved already and with their help.