Somalia gained independence in 1960 with the union of British and Italian colonies. In 1969, General Siad Barre seized power and exploited clan rivalries to maintain control until he was finally deposed in January 1991. A five-year transitional process was established in 2004 after international peace negotiations were led by Kenya. The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was granted power and the responsibility to create a new constitution. However, the TFG has faced opposition from militant factions in the country. In 2006, a coalition of Islamic groups referred to as the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) took control of the capital, Mogadishu, along with significant areas of the country. Eventually Ethiopian and TFG forces were able to expel the militants from the capital, but more than 10,000 civilians were killed and approximately one million people displaced in the insurgency. Militant Islamic groups still control the majority of the south and centre of the country. In late December 2008, President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed announced his resignation, sparking hope that the peace negotiations will improve.  However, it is clear that Islamist groups committed to creating an Islamic state still exercise control in Somalia.

Islam is Somalia’s national religion. Although the Transitional Federal Charter grants religious freedom, the TFG is either unable or unwilling to enforce these rights for their citizens. Somalia is almost exclusively Sunni Muslim, with 0.05 percent of the population Christian. As a result of clan rivalries, the enforcement of Islamic law varies from area to area. The persecution of Christians is severe in most regions of Somalia and many have fled to neighbouring countries. A number of believers have been martyred and others have been publicly named as targets for execution. In late October 2008, a humanitarian worker who converted to Christianity from Islam was beheaded by militants in front of a group of villagers. 

• Pray for encouragement and strength for the Christians remaining in Somalia as well as for those who have been forced to leave their homes.
• Pray for a full and lasting peace in this war-torn country.