Somalia Issues - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Disputes - international

Somalia-Djibouti: none identified

Somalia-Ethiopia: Ethiopian forces invaded southern Somalia and routed Islamist Courts from Mogadishu in January 2007; the border between the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia, which is inhabited by ethnic Somalis, and Somalia is only partially demarcated under colonial rule and has been the source of tension for decades

Somalia-Kenya: Kenya works hard to prevent the clan and militia fighting in Somalia from spreading south across the border, which has long been open to nomadic pastoralists; in 2015, the Kenyan Government began building a wall along the border to prevent the crossborder movement of militant groups; the boundary separates ethnic Somalis; in October 2021, the Somalia-Kenya Indian Ocean boundary dispute was decided by the International Court of Justice; the ruling adjusted the boundary slightly north of Somalia’s claim giving Somalia the majority of the contested maritime territory, which is believed to contain rich oil and natural gas deposits; while the decision is legally binding, it has no enforcement mechanism, and Kenya has said it will not abide by it

Refugees and internally displaced persons

refugees (country of origin): 9,208 (Yemen) (2022)

IDPs: 2.968 million (civil war since 1988, clan-based competition for resources; famine; insecurity because of fighting between al-Shabaab and the Transitional Federal Government's allied forces) (2022)

NOTE: The information regarding Somalia on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Somalia 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Somalia 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.