How Safe Is Mogadishu, Somalia 🇸🇴?
Intro
Every time someone asks me, "Why did you go to Somalia?" there is always the follow-up question consisting of "Is it safe"? Well, I thought it would be a cool idea to touch on the safety aspect of a tourist visiting Somalia. As always, these are my views, and they are honest ones.
So... What Is The Answer?
I am going to be frank with you: visiting Somalia is not a destination that I recommend for a family holiday with 3 children or even for your honeymoon. Going to this country is for people who enjoy adventure travel, and it would be okay if something went awry.
During my time in Mogadishu, I found that my experience was safe but with lots of conditions. Almost everywhere I went, I wasn't allowed to walk around and had to be transported in a bulletproof vehicle and 2 armed escorts in the back with AK-47s.
While I felt safe during my time there, barring the incident with the police, it was an experience that felt constricted. With Al Shabab active in the country, these precautions are necessary if you aren't of Somali descent (at least required by the tour operator. It's a beautiful country that I feel has potential, but it is probably the one country I have visited where I did need a military escort.
The Green Zone
In Mogadishu, there is an area of the city that I have never experienced in any other place across the world: the green zone. Perhaps the most fortified place in the world featuring the Ugandan army, the Kenyan army, and other African countries have set up checkpoints every 200 meters for vehicles entering the green zone.
Every 200 meters, there will be a checkpoint where passengers attempting to enter the green zone will be thoroughly screened. This is nothing like crossing a border; there are military towers and concrete barriers representing a "snake" to make sure it is impossible to get out quickly.
However, once you are inside, you are set. If you are a business traveler, you will be staying in the green zone. If you work for the United Nations of WFP, you will be staying in the green zone. If you work diplomatically, you will be staying in the green zone...
Keep in mind the green zone is only open from 8 am-4 pm daily, and if you miss the time slot for getting in, you will be unable to spend the night inside.
Final Thoughts
The security and safety situation is a complicated one. It isn't quite as easy as saying that this country is safe or not safe since it depends on your ethnicity and your resources. If you are of Somali heritage but returning home, you will be mostly fine. If you are Caucasian with a fully armed escort, such as myself, you will most likely be fine. However, if you somehow manage to enter the country as a Westerner with no security escort, I am not so sure.
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