Djibouti and Its Rebels

Analysts are expressing fear that increasing rebel activity in Djibouti in recent months could threaten the stability of one of the most strategically important nations in the Horn of Africa. The internal upheaval is some of the worst since Djibouti gained independence from France 33 years ago.
Last month, three Djiboutian soldiers were killed in an ambush in the north of the country, where a low-intensity anti-government rebellion has been simmering for nearly two decades.
The incident has been followed by near-daily reports of armed clashes in the area, stoking public fears that the country is sliding toward another civil war.
Horn of Africa observer Jack Kalpakian at Al-Akhawayn University in Morocco says the latest unrest began in April, when Djibouti’s second president, Ismail Omar Guelleh, tried to pressure the parliament into changing the constitution so that he could serve a third, six-year term in office.

Djibouti is, of course, home to French and American bases and plays a strategic role in Western efforts to influence events in the Horn of Africa, particularly in Somalia. But if Djibouti is destabilized despite the Western presence, what chance then for the success of Western attempts to stabilize Somalia?

Posted in Horn of Africa | Tags: Somalia, Djibouti, Ismail Guelleh