04 Jun 2009: ISS Seminar, Pretoria: Somalia: Cutting the Gordian Knot

Register Online: ISS Seminar: Somalia: Cutting the Gordian Knot
Pretoria, 4 June 2009

 

NB: Event Cancelled due to an unexpected development that has resulted in one of the speakers not being able to travel to Pretoria. Our apologies for the cancellation.

 

Somalia’s political future remains uncertain. A significant shift in dynamics occurred in early 2009, with the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops, the nomination of former ICU leader Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed as the head of the new inclusive Government of National Unity, and the efforts to reconcile the different warring Islamic factions. A new era of peace seemed to be dawning. The country is currently facing a daunting challenge in the form of Al-Shabaab’s recent offensive and the difficulty of the new administration to restore peace and stability.

 

The seminar will shed some light on the events leading to this escalation in fighting and speculate upon the possible future for Somalia.

 

Speaker: Rashid Abdi, Somalia Analyst, International Crisis Group

 

Discussant: Prof. Iqbal Jhazbhay, UNISA

 

Chair: Paula Roque, African Security Analysis Programme, ISS

 

Date: Thursday, 4 June 2009
Time: 10h00 - 12h00 (tea at 09h30)
Venue: ISS Seminar Room, Block C, Brooklyn Court, Veale Street, New Muckleneuck, Tshwane (Pretoria)
(Parking at ABSA Court and Brooklyn Mall)

 

RSVP: Ms Maria Maluleke, Tel: 012 346 9500; Fax: 012 460 0997 / 086 508 1660; E-mail: [email protected]