Somalia is a failed state, without food, in constant drought and constantly at war. Since 1991, Islamic factions funded by China, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia have fought a bloody civil war that in 2012 was estimated to have cost it over $55 Billion, with over a million killed – and far more displaced. That was 10 years ago. Corrupt, hopeless. A pirate enclave. A Hell on Earth. China is there because it wants the Somali coastline as a base.

money won’t save it. it just funds more weapons to perpetuate its state of eternal war.

Somalia used to be an Italian colony. It’ll come as no surprise that they fought a long vicious war to hold it. During World War Two, the British pushed Mussolini’s Nazis out, handing it to the UN to administer. The French held it too. The UN tried to stabilise the country without any degree of success, as did the Americians, with the usual results from their inimitable gung-ho foreign policy methods.

a radical Islamist snake pit

Somalia has no living generation that’s known any period of peace. Its anarchy. The land is split into territories held by vicious barbaric radical Islamic factions, with notorious names you’ll be familiar with. Al Shabaab, Al Qaeda, Islamic State. Some you may not, such as Waljama’a, Wilayat Al Samal and others. A rag-tag army of corrupt, murderous thugs and child soldiers.

The nation has rarely seen peace or know how to react to it, maybe that’s why Somalian emigrants join gangs and are prone to violence, even in far more settled western European countries.

what about natural resources. does Somalia have anything worth fighting for?

Somalia, unlike a lot of Africa, is not rich in natual assets. It has some untapped deposits of tantalum (may interest China), low level uranium, tin, copper, iron ore, gypsum, bauxit, salt and an estimated up to 30 billion barrels and natural gas. Experts believe it would take three years without conflict to bring it to the surface, if realised.

Yet despite the country’s grinding poverty and starvation, its militias are spectacularly well financed and armed by eager arms suppliers from Saudi Arabia, China and Russia along with corrupt aid agencies. Its estimated that the majority of all African conflicts bought their weapons from Somali warlords. Its the only thriving industry there.

China is entwined around Somalia like the devil’s serpent.

The UN has tried to stop the supply of weapons without success. As an Islamic state, Saudi Arabia sees this as a Holy War for its Sunni factions. Iran, of course supports the Shiite fighters. Its not about territory, or resources, people or access. Its about wiping out the opposing side. The Islamic way.

China would love to establish a sea base in whatever remains of the country. Its providing illegal weapons marked with counterfeit Russian serial numbers so they can blame the Russians. Iran, of course doesn’t care about weapon sanctions any way, they hate Sunni’s so keep the Shiites supplied.

Next time you hear a desperate call for food, just bear in mind that aid is simply funnelled into weapons. A Kalashnikov costs around $1500. A magazine of cartridges for it, $50. Pull the trigger and they’re gone in 10 seconds. a hobby costing $600 a minute sounds like First-World problem. But its not.

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