Without going too far back into history, let's begin with a post-colonial history of Somalia, so we can place the current Somali turmoil in context.

As we all know Somalia, the Southern part of it was a colony of Italy [Italian Somaliland] and the Northern part was a British colony [British Somaliland]. Both colonies received independence in 1960 and a united Somalia was born. Seven months later, it had its elections. Aden Osman was elected the first president and Abdulreshid was named prime minister,

Now, whenever we talk about Somalia, we have to talk about the clan, particularly the 4 major clans: 1. Darod; 2. Dir; 3. Rehawen and 4. Hawiya. These clans would distribute the government posts of speaker of parliament, head of state, prime minister and sovereign portfolios [defense and internal ministries and deputy PM] amongst them.

Doesn't Ethiopia really want a weak, fragmented Somalia which places it in direct contradiction with the nationalist Somali sentiment to be united and strong?

Ethiopia shares 1000km border with Somalia. It is through Somalia that everything Ethiopia imports from the Middle East comes. And one of the things that can come is terror. This being the case, it is in the national interest of Ethiopia to have a strong Somali state in control of its borders. Ethiopia has hosted 8 Somali peace conferences and millions of dollars to bring this about. Somalia's future is always going to be influenced by Ethiopia. I don?t think a strong Somali government poses a threat to Ethiopia. In fact, it prefers a strong government, which can enhance trade, security and minimize the headaches of opposition groups and terrorism. Ethiopia wants a favorable government, which is not the same as a weak government. Read more