The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation

leaders waged war against Siad Barre’s military government, which was
toppled in January 1990. This was the bloodiest of all the stages of militarized
violence. Both the opposition groups and the military government
used extreme violence against one another – indiscriminate
killings, loot ing and destruction of property, as well as violence against
women.
This stage was followed by a second stage in the latter half of the 1990s
that I call the era of warlords against civilians, which was characterized
by lawlessness, statelessness, anarchy, a political vacuum and the loot -
ing of public and private property. This stage marks the era where warlords
waged deliberate violence and terrorized civilians, including
women. The targeted civilians were seen as enemies who had either
close relationships or clan affiliations with the military government, from
which they benefited. During this stage, the warlords and their armed
militias controlled the country, committing human rights violations
against defenceless civilians, seizing or destroying public and private
property and competing for access to resources, land control and power
over the people. Violence against women and minority groups increased.
The third stage, which I call warlords against warlords, the warlords and
their militias collided and waged deadly wars against each other, with
the civilians were once again caught in between. An example was the
demarcation of the capital city into two parts – Mogadishu North and
South, each controlled by one warlord and his militia. This occurred
against the wishes of the inhabitants of Mogadishu.
The fourth stage is that of radical religious groups vs. former colleagues
claiming to be non-radical; the latter are the current leaders of the transitional
government and the international peacekeepers. The current
TFG is headed by one of the leaders of UIC, Sheikh Sharif, a moderate
religious man whose former friends, including Sheikh Dahir Aweys, now
oppose his administration, which receives international support. That is
the prime cause of enmity between the two. The armed religious groups
constitute the new aggressors of the Somali war, who oppose the TFG
and the overall international support for this administration, including the
African peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi. The civilians are caught
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