Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012
The transitional governments, 2000–2012: the TNG and the TFG (Dowladda KMG)
From 2000 to 2012 Somalia had two internationally backed transitional governments. The Transitional National Government (TNG) came out of the Arta conference in Djibouti in August 2000. The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) came out of the Kenya talks of 2002–2004 and elected Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed president in October 2004. The TFG moved from Baidoa to Mogadishu in 2007, took in the Islamist opposition after the 2008 Djibouti agreement, and handed over to a new Federal Parliament on 20 August 2012.
In short
After the central government fell in 1991, Somalia went nine years with no national government. Two transitional governments followed, both formed at conferences abroad. The Transitional National Government (TNG) ran from 2000. The Transitional Federal Government (TFG), known in Somali as Dowladda KMG (Ku-Meel-Gaar, "temporary"), ran from 2004 to 2012 (Congressional Research Service, Somalia: Current Conditions and Prospects for a Lasting Peace, RL33911).
The transition ended on 20 August 2012, when a new Federal Parliament was sworn in (UN Secretary-General, report S/2013/69, para. 2).
The Arta conference and the TNG, 2000
- May 2000. The Somali Reconciliation Conference opened in Arta, Djibouti, under a plan approved by IGAD, the regional body. About 400 delegates took part over several months (CRS, RL33911).
- 13 August 2000. The delegates agreed to form a Transitional National Government and a Transitional National Assembly (same source).
- 26 August 2000. They chose Abdiqasim Salad Hassan as president (same source).
CRS records that several armed faction leaders, and the administrations of Somaliland and Puntland, boycotted Arta (same source).
The Kenya talks and the TFG, 2002–2004
- October 2002. IGAD opened new talks, led by Kenya, at Eldoret. About 350 delegates attended; Somaliland stayed away. The parties signed a ceasefire and agreed on a federal system (CRS, RL33911).
- September 2003. The parties agreed a Transitional National Charter (same source).
- August 2004. A 275-member Transitional Parliament was inaugurated in Kenya (same source).
- October 2004. Parliament elected Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed president of Somalia (same source).
Baidoa, Mogadishu and Ethiopia, 2006–2008
In 2006 the Islamic Courts Union took Mogadishu. The TFG was based at Baidoa. On 28 December 2006 Ethiopian troops took Mogadishu, and in January 2007 the TFG moved to the capital (CRS, RL33911).
Fighting with insurgents followed. CRS reported, in its later updates, that al-Shabaab and other armed groups held most of south-central Somalia, and that the TFG and the African Union force, AMISOM, had no presence outside Baidoa and Mogadishu (same source). See Al-Shabaab.
The Djibouti agreement, 2008–2009
In June 2008 the TFG and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS), led by former Islamic Courts leaders, signed an agreement in Djibouti. It was mediated by the UN envoy Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah. The parties agreed a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces and a UN force (CRS, RL33911).
In January 2009 the enlarged parliament elected the ARS leader, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, president. He appointed Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke prime minister (same source). CRS gives the parliament's size in 2010 as 550 members (same source).
Disputes at the top, 2010–2011
- 2010. The Speaker resigned in May after a dispute with the prime minister, and Sharmarke later resigned. In late October 2010 the president appointed Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmaajo, prime minister (CRS, RL33911).
- 9 June 2011, the Kampala Accord. The president and the Speaker agreed to delay elections for 12 months from August 2011. The accord required the prime minister to resign within 30 days (UN Secretary-General, report S/2011/549, paras. 5–6).
- August 2011. TFG and AMISOM forces drove al-Shabaab out of Mogadishu (same source, summary).
The end of the transition, 2012
A "road map" agreed in 2011 set the tasks for ending the transition by 20 August 2012 (UN Secretary-General, report S/2012/643, para. 3).
- 5 May 2012. About 135 traditional elders met in Mogadishu to choose the members of a National Constituent Assembly and the new parliament (same source, para. 7).
- 1 August 2012. The 825-member Constituent Assembly adopted the Provisional Constitution (same source, paras. 2 and 6).
- 20 August 2012. A new 275-member Federal Parliament was established. The elders chose its members, and a Technical Selection Committee vetted them (S/2013/69, para. 2).
- After 20 August 2012. Parliament elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud president (same source).
The UN called it "the most transparent and representative election in Somalia's 20-year crisis, and the first to be held inside the country", while noting "reports of intimidation and undue interference" (same source). What followed is told in the Federal Government of Somalia.
Who suffered?
Civilians suffered most in Mogadishu in 2007–2008. Human Rights Watch reported that from early 2007 "more than 870,000 civilians have fled war-torn Mogadishu alone and more than 6,000 civilians have been killed in the fighting" (Human Rights Watch, World Report 2009). It wrote that "all sides to this conflict have regularly committed serious violations" (same source):
- TFG forces and allied militias carried out "killings, murder, rape, and looting" in Mogadishu, and arbitrary arrests for ransom.
- Ethiopian forces often fired "indiscriminately into crowds of civilians". After a roadside bomb near Afgooye in August 2008, soldiers killed "up to 60 civilians".
- Insurgent forces fought from populated areas, and killed aid workers, activists and journalists. At least ten journalists were killed from early 2007 to 2008.
Sources differ
- When the transition ended. The UN dates the end to 20 August 2012, when the new parliament sat. The president was chosen after that date (S/2013/69).
- The size of parliament. It had 275 members in 2004, 550 by 2010 and 275 again from August 2012 (CRS, RL33911; S/2013/69).
- How the 2012 parliament was chosen. The UN called the process the most representative in twenty years. The same report records claims of intimidation and undue influence on the elders.
Read the primary sources yourself
- Congressional Research Service, Somalia: Current Conditions and Prospects for a Lasting Peace, RL33911: text.
- UN Secretary-General, reports on Somalia: S/2011/549 (Kampala Accord), S/2012/643 (road map and constitution), S/2013/69 (end of the transition).
- Human Rights Watch, World Report 2009, Somalia chapter: text.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service, Somalia: Current Conditions and Prospects for a Lasting Peace, RL33911 · everycrsreport.com
- UN Secretary-General, report S/2013/69, para. 2 · documents.un.org
- UN Secretary-General, report S/2011/549, paras. 5–6 · documents.un.org
- UN Secretary-General, report S/2012/643, para. 3 · documents.un.org
- Human Rights Watch, World Report 2009 · hrw.org
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Where it happened
- Muqdisho (Mogadishu) and BanaadirMogadishu (Muqdisho) is Somalia's capital and makes up the Banadir region, with about 2.97 million people in 20 districts.
- Baydhabo (Baidoa) and BayBay is a farming region in South West State, with Baidoa (Baydhabo) as its main city and about 1.25 to 1.8 million people.
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- The Somali Civil WarThe Somali Civil War from the 1980s to now: the rebel fronts, the fall of Siad Barre, the split of Mogadishu, famine, the UN years, the Islamic Courts and al-Shabaab.
- The Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), 2001–2004The SRRC, the Ethiopian-hosted alliance against Somalia's Arta government: its founding in 2001, its refusal to recognise the TNG, its fighting, and its part in the Kenya talks.
- The Burao conference and Somaliland's declaration, May 1991The Burao conference of 1991 and the declaration of the Republic of Somaliland: who attended, what was decided, the first government, and the first year after.
- The Transitional Federal Parliament, 2004–2012Somalia's Transitional Federal Parliament from 2004 to 2012: how members were chosen by clan, the first sessions in Nairobi and Baidoa, the 2009 expansion, the Kampala Accord and the handover.
- UNOSOM I, 1992–1993: the first UN operation in SomaliaUNOSOM I, April 1992 to March 1993: the Mogadishu ceasefire, the observers and the Pakistani battalion, the famine, the looting of aid, and the turn to UNITAF.
- The UN and US intervention, 1992–1995: UNOSOM and UNITAFUNOSOM I and II and the US-led UNITAF, 1992–1995: the famine, the missions, the 5 June and 3 October 1993 battles, the civilian toll, and the withdrawal.