ABSTRACT
For the first seven years of the Republic's life these apparently irreconcilable positions led to constant tension between the three states, occasional eruptions of war between Ethiopia and Somalia, and a continuous and costly guerilla campaign by Somali nationalists-the so-called "shiJta" in northern Kenya. Since the formation of Mr. Mohammad Ibrahim Egal's government, however, the Republic has embarked on an energetic policy of direct negotiation with these powerful neighbours, and with the meJiation of other African leaders, a detente has been achieved. Kenya, at least, now appears to acknowledge that as she has a case, so
also does the Somali ~epublic. Although negotiations with Ethiopia do not yet seem to have reached agreement at such a fundamental level, relations between the two states have recently attained an unprecedented degree of cordiality which may ultimately lead to a more profound understanding.
