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Somalia has been torn by war since the overthrow of military ruler Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991. Since then conflict and famine have killed hundreds of thousands of people. Our photos show some of the chaos of Mogadishu, where gunmen patrol the streets and drivers choose for themselves whether to drive on the right, left or centre. At the same time, there are initiatives to oppose violence.
Somali women watch an anti-war play
staged at a ruined basketball stadium in
the capital Mogadishu to mark the U.N.
International Day of Peace September 21,
2003. Earlier several hundred students
and women ventured into the city's shell-
cratered streets, infested by an
estimated 60,000 gunmen, to protest at
12 years of militia anarchy in the
failed Horn of Africa state. REUTERS/
Antony Njuguna
REF: MOG09D
Somali gunmen drive through the streets
of capital Mogadishu September 25, 2003.
The chaotic capital of the failed Horn
of Africa state is much more peaceful
now but remains extremely lawless and is
home to thousands of gunmen. REUTERS/
Antony Njuguna
REF: NAI04D
A Somali gunman stands next to the ruins
of the once picturesque Mogadishu
Cathedral, September 23, 2003, which
stands on the city's green line dividing
North and South Mogadishu and which was
destroyed during fighting between rival
Somali factions after the overthrow of
dictator Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991.
Neighbourhood patrols by gunmen
answerable to local elders and Islamic
courts rather than militia bosses have
sprung up in the past year in the
lawless capital of one million Somali
people. REUTERS/Antony
Njuguna
REF: NAI04D
A Somali gunman stands on guard as
villagers look on in the north of
Mogadishu, September 24, 2003. The
chaotic capital of the failed Horn of
Africa state is much more peaceful now
but remains extremely lawless and is
home to thousands of gunmen. Ruined
Somalia needs the big powers to push it
towards peace but major nations are
repelled by its image as a quagmire in
which U.S. forces floundered a decade
ago. REUTERS/Antony
Njuguna
REF: MOG01D
A Somali truck loaded with corn is
parked on side of a road in Mogadishu,
September 24, 2003. The dilapidated city
is the capital of the failed Horn of
Africa state, where motorists have the
choice of driving on the right or the
left hand side of the road, such is
Mogadishu's anarchy. Car wrecks, goats,
cattle and the tent-like homes of
refugees line the pot-holed, sandy
streets. REUTERS/Antony Njuguna
REF: MOG02D
A Somali man rides his donkey-drawn
carriage along a street of the capital
Mogadishu, September 22, 2003.
REUTERS/Antony
Njuguna
REF: MOG01D
Somalia University students, take notes
at a nursing class in downtown Mogadishu
September 24, 2003. The university,
which opened its doors in 1997, was
founded by a group of middle-aged
academics using funds from the large
Somalia diaspora and Islamic relief
agencies in the Gulf. REUTERS/Antony
Njuguna
REF: NAI0D
Mohamud Afrah Weheliye, a captain in the
former Somalia government, waits for
more of his gunmen to arrive for
afternoon inspection at his home in
Mogadishu September 23, 2003.
Neighbourhood patrols by gunmen
answerable to local elders and Islamic
courts rather than militia bosses have
sprung up in the past year in the
lawless capital of one million Somali
people. REUTERS/Antony
Njuguna
REF: NAI02D
Somali gunmen drive through the streets
of the capital Mogadishu, September 21,
2003. REUTERS/Antony Njuguna
REF: MOG03D
A young Somali girl watches an anti-war
play staged at a ruined basketball
stadium in the capital Mogadishu to mark
the U.N. International Day of Peace
September 21, 2003. Earlier several
hundred students and women ventured into
the city's shell-cratered streets,
infested by an estimated 60,000 gunmen,
to protest at 12 years of militia
anarchy in the failed Horn of Africa
state. REUTERS/Antony Njuguna
REF: MOG07D
A Somali gunmen sits at the back of a
pickup truck as he is driven through the
streets of Mogadishu September 21, 2003.
REUTERS/Antony Njuguna
REF: MOG08D
Somalia University students attend a
nursing class in downtown Mogadishu,
September 24, 2003. The university,
which opened its doors in 1997, was
founded by a group of middle-aged
academics using funds from the large
Somalia diaspora and Islamic relief
agencies in the Gulf.REUTERS/Antony
Njuguna
REF: NAI02D
