SOMALIA has been a mess for two decades. The most recent functioning government was swept away in 1991. The state has failed utterly and rival militias vie for control. A drought earlier this year quickly turned into a full-blown famine that has hit 4m people and already killed tens of thousands. Somalia’s misery also threatens the outside world. Unconstrained by a coastguard or police force, growing numbers of Somalis are turning to piracy, threatening foreign seamen and costing the rest of the world anything from $7 billion to $12 billion a year—including extra spending on fuel, security and $400m in ransom payments over the past five years.

A solution to Somalia’s problems will not be found on the high seas or on the country’s barren farmland, but only in the capital, Mogadishu. A thorough political settlement, rather than yet another piecemeal fix, is needed to end its civil war—and, by backing one faction, foreigners are not helping.

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