randomWalks

Historically, Somalia has always been more a collection of widely scattered settlements and clans than a unified country. During the 19th century, the British took one chunk and the Italians another. Upon independence in 1960, Somalia became one, at least on the map. In 1969, after years of instability, an autocratic army general named Mohamed Siad Barre seized power and kept Somalia together from 1969 to 1991, until the cold war ended.

Today, the clannishness is back in force with at least five different men claiming to be president of various portions of the country and scores of warlords who have divvied up virtually every city block and remote village for themselves. American attention is now focused elsewhere, but the problems that haunted Somalia a decade ago have festered.

One of the supposed presidents is Abdinur Ahmed Darman, a businessman who staged a large rally in Mogadishu in July 2003, during which he declared himself Somalia's head of state. Mr. Darman's business activities are diverse, including the printing of fake Somali shillings, according to the United Nations report.

Before Mr. Darman held his presidential rally, he took care of some key details: he hired a group of militiamen to protect him, a prerequisite for any leadership position in Somalia, and he opened an e-mail account with the address somalipresidency@yahoo.com.

New York Times: The Lesson of Somalia.