Somalia: August 22, 2004

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The Transitional National Federal Assembly (TNFA), the new Somali parliament, was sworn in at UN offices in neighboring Kenya. The situation is too dangerous to do it in neighboring Somalia. Months of negotiations in Kenya have led to the selection of  275 lawmakers. The selection process was very contentious and it's unsure if the parliament will hold together once it is taken back to Somalia. There aren't any good options. Some Somalis openly call for a return of colonial rule. But the majority of Somalis want to rule themselves. However, this is prevented by the inability of many heavily armed clans, led by warlords, to agree on who should run the national government. There are dozens of situations like this in the world, but Somalia is the worst case.