14 June 2024

The Horn Of Africa States: A Geostrategic Geopolitical Minefield – OpEd

Dr. Suleiman Walhad

The region has always been a bridge connecting Africa, Asia and Europe from ancient times to this day. Despite its apparent poverty, it still plays a pivotal role in world affairs and major and regional powers still keep it in mind and include it in their calculations geostrategically and geopolitically. It was always a conflict-prone region for some centuries now starting with the arrival of the Portuguese in the Middle Ages, through the Scramble for Africa, the First and Second World Wars and the Cold War, when despite being in the same socialist camp, conflicts still continued in the region.

Nothing has changed and the currently brewing East and West standoff still affects the region with USA-led NATO on one side and the BRICS Plus on the other. This is further complicated by the regional wars such as those endless Middle East wars culminating in the current Palestinian/Israeli war in Gaza. The region knows no respite as the world elephants face off each other with their proxy wars within the region, which impacts its tribes and clans, some of whom with limited understanding of matters wrongly believe in unachievable matters.

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