Word: rebel
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Another African state was lurching into anarchy last week. The disintegration of order and government in Somalia looked like an agonizing replay of the collapse of Liberia last year. Almost duplicating the stages that shattered the West African state, a group of Somali rebel armies sapped the strength of a narrowly based and despotic regime over several years. They then closed in on the capital and smashed the government's rule without replacing it. If this is the end of Siad Barre, his successor has not yet emerged...
Somalia's three rebel fronts dismissed Siad Barre's call for a cease-fire and negotiations last week, and the United Somali Congress marched reinforcements into Mogadishu for what it called the "final offensive." In a joint statement issued in London, the three groups announced their agreement to form a "transitional government that will pave the way for the restoration of democratic institutions...
That worthy objective may never be achieved. The rebel factions have no political program; the only principle that unites them is their hatred of Siad Barre and their determination to oust him. Their organizations are completely clan-based and are divided by hundreds of years of intramural fighting. With no restraining influences from abroad and the superpowers attending to other concerns, Somalia's future is likely to be sadly similar to its bloody past...
When Idriss Deby and his rebel army rolled into the capital city of N'Djamena last week, the reaction of the 1,800-man French force stationed in the country was almost blase. As expected, the guerrilla leader quickly proclaimed himself President and promised to bring parliamentary democracy to his impoverished country...
...seem to extend to the Aozou Strip, a mineral-rich area in northern Chad that Gaddafi claims belongs to Libya. Deby made it clear last week that if necessary he will fight to keep the strip out of Libya's hands. That may encourage Gaddafi to assist yet another rebel army with the aim of overthrowing yet another government...