Somalia Issues - 2024

Disputes - international

Somalia-Djibouti: none identified

Somalia-Ethiopia: 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:the border area, which has long been open to nomadic pastoralists, has been prone to clan fighting and infiltrations by the Somalia-based terrorist group al-Shabaab, which has conducted numerous attacks in Kenya; in 2015, the Kenyan Government began building a wall along the border to prevent the cross-border movement of militant groups; 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): 23,364 (Ethiopia), 9,969 (Yemen) (2023)

IDPs: 3.864 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)