Somalia is a failed state, and has not had an effective government for almost 20 years since former dictator Siad Barre was deposed in 1991. It is deeply divided, with political and tribal factions running well-armed militias which cripple any attempt by the nominal government to take control.


Many parts of the country depend on international aid agencies, so when Deputy Water Minister Abdirahman Yousuf Farah announced that Unicef, the Red Cross and other agencies would be banned from Somalia after they did not attend a meeting last week, the Prime Minister in Mogadishu was quick to deny his minister's actions, saying that "we support and encourage humanitarian agencies to come to Somalia."


But the answer to Somalia's chronic failure lies within the country itself. The deep chaos only exists in the southern half of the former state, and the northern part known as Somaliland has set up an effective government, which holds regular elections and has brought a fair degree of civil administration to the benefit of its population. This experience shows that it should be possible to rebuild Somalia, with strong political will and effective international support for a new effort to restore this dangerously failed state.