Somalia

Colonial Africa
 Africa was divided
based upon European
needs
 not considered were
ethnic groups,
economic structures,
historical cooperation
or conflict
 Somali divided among
Italy, Britain and France
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Company: 1998-2009, How Stuff Works, Inc.
Somali Independence
 1900—began fighting against European
domination
 1960—independence from Britain
 North and South United
 Wanted to reclaim ‘Lost Lands’
 Ogaden Province of Ethiopia: home to ethnic Somalis,
Ogaden Clan
 Northern Frontier Province of Kenya
 Djibouti
 “Somalia is the only state in Africa all of whose
members share a history, language, and culture.” (B.
H. Selassie, p. 98).
Copyright: NationMaster, 2003-2009.
For large image click the following link:
http://images.nationmaster.com/images/motw/africa/somalia_ethnic_2002.jpg
Organization of African Unity,
1964
 Meets in Cairo
 Recognized the colonial inherited
borders
 Somali objects
 Right to self-determination of those
Somalis in other countries, particularly
Ogaden Province, Ethiopia
http://www.mideastweb.org/mnafrica.htm
Cold War Tensions
 United States: Supports Ethiopia
 Somalia requests arms from US, 1962
 Refused
 Somalia begins receiving Soviet Aid, 1964
 Soviets trying to build up their navy
 Mogadishu’s Army 20,000 strong equipped with
Russian tanks and squadrons of MiG fighters
 Somalia joins the Arab League
 Islam is practiced; however, Somalis are not
Arab
General Siad Barre
October 21, 1969
takes over power
1970: Claims
Scientific Socialism
for Somalia—aligns
with the Soviet
Union
Unifies the varied
clans in pursuit of
For large image click the following link:
nationalistic goals http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~hmohamed/somalis.html
Ogaden War, 1976-1979
 Proxy Conflict of
the Cold War
 West Somali
Liberation Front
training in Ethiopia
 Somalia could
claim it was
supporting the
rights of ethnic
Copyright Unknown. If the reader knows
who holds the copyright, please contact
Oscar Chamberlain at the University of
Somalis in Ethiopia
Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Ogaden War (Con’t)
 February, 1977 fighting breaks out
 Somali forces initially successful
 June, 1977 Ethiopia claims a full scale
Somali invasion
 September, 1977 Ethiopia severs
diplomatic ties with Somali
End of the Ogaden War
 Soviet Union begins leaning towards Ethiopia
 December 1978 withdraws military advisor from
Somalia and reassigns to Ethiopia
 Crucial Somali military information regarding troop
capabilities and deployment
 US and France announce no further arms
shipments to Somalia
 Ethiopia gains the upper hand
 Somalia withdraws summer 1979
 More subtle strategy for the Lost Territories…had
alienated all neighbors
Humanitarian Crisis
 Famine 1972-1974
 Drought
 250,000 seek refuge in camps
 Resettled in fishing and cultivation schemes in the south
 One Million refugees from the Ogaden War
 Constitution 1979: Somali Democratic Republic
 Nearly unlimited power to the president
 Disparity of economic development favors the South over
the North
 Clan affiliation all-important
Growing Opposition

General Barre using

more repression
Clan based affiliations
and alliances offer
political and armed
resistance to Barre
1989 United States Mogadishu

cut off foreign aid

Click link for larger picture and more information on that day’s actions
from BBC News Online. At
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/africa/937424.stm

completely
Uprising in the North, spring
1988
 Political and economic considerations
 North produced surplus livestock
 Largest share of export earnings
 Barre Gov’t invested in the south
 Somali National Movement
 Opposition in the North
 Wanted connections with the populations in
Ethiopia and Djibouti
 Barre government bombed the north
The Manifesto, May 1990
 Calls for:
 National conference to reconcile various
movements and ethnic groups
 Blamed the government for atrocities committed
during the clan uprisings
 Suggested the abolition of repressive laws
 Multiparty system, constitutional changes
 Proposed a caretaker government and election
preparations
 General Barre arrests many of the
signatories; conflicts continue
The Collapse of the Barre
Government
 December 1990 Egypt and Italy host conference
 January 5, 1991 US rescues Americans and other
Westerners from Mogadishu
 United Nations staff evacuated
 January 21, 1991 Barre flees Mogadishu
 Clan leaders begin to form their own governments
 November 1991-March 1992 fighting in Mogadishu
 30,000 dead during the fighting
 500,000 without basic services
 300,000 dead of hunger and hunger related diseases
 500,000 flee to camps in Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti
Clan Leadership
 Somali National Movement – Abdul Rahman Tur.
Somali Salvation Democratic Front – Colonel
Tusuf.
**United Somali Congress (Aideed faction)
General Mohammed Farah Aideed.
**United Somali Congress (Ali Mahdi faction) Ali
Mahdi Muhammed.
Somali National Front – General Mohamed Said
Hersi Morgan.
Somali Patriotic Movement – Colonel Omar Jess.
 Army Times, December 14, 1992
UNOSOM I
 United Nations Security Council Resolution
751(1992)
 January, 1992 Complete arms embargo called by
the UN
 February, 1992 Cease-fire agreed to by Somali
Clans
 March, 1992 Establishment of UNOSOM
 Monitor the cease-fire
 Assist with humanitarian relief
 50 military observers, 500 member infantry unit
 Immediate assistance to 1.5 million people, and help for
an additional 3.5 million people
 UNOSOM

http://www.militaryphotos.net/
forums/showthread.php?
t=74401&page=2

UNOSOM Compound,
Mogadishu

Close protection party, Somalia

1993-4 (UNOSOM)
Problems for UNOSOM I
 Continued fighting between Aideed and
Mahdi
 Humanitarian aid and medical supplies
looted
 Pakistani troops could not respond; general
UN rules of engagement
 UNOSOM could not carry out its mandate
 Famine in the interior continued
 Somali land in the north declares its
independence
Creation of UNITAF
 United Nations Security Council Resolution 794(1992)
 Member states to use all possible means
 Establish secure environment for humanitarian relief
 President George H. W. Bush
 Humanitarian tragedy continuing
 Operation Restore Hope: December 4, 1992
 American troops land: December 9, 1992
 Bush has lost the ’92 election to Bill Clinton
 Goals of United Task Force:
 Multinational coalition of military units
 Command and control--American
 Traditional military organization
UNITAF
 Secretary General Boutros
Boutros-Ghali, Egypt
 Assisted General Barre’s
regime
 Aideed distrustful of
Boutros-Ghali; Mahdi
supported Boutros-Ghali
 Announces UN force of
3,000
 Was only to be 500
Boutros Boutros-
 Security situation in
Mogadishu deteriorates
Ghali
Photo: United
 Armed groups of Somalis
begin to harass the relief
Nations Website efforts
UNITAF
 “The United Sates has undertaken to take
the lead in creating the secure environment
which is an inescapable condition for the
United Nations to provide humanitarian relief
and promote national reconciliation and
economic reconstruction, objectives which
have from the outset been included in the
various Security Council resolutions on
Somalia.” -UN Secretary General Boutros-Ghali to
President Bush December 8, 1992
UNITAF
 Approximately 28,000
US soldiers and
17,000 soldiers from
20 other countries
A US soldier serving with the Unified Task
 Securing: Force (UNITAF) in Jilib, Somalia - April
1993
 Air and seaports UN 159831 M. Grant

 Food distribution points

 Open and free passage
of relief supplies
 Convoys for relief
organizations

Close protection party, Somalia 1993-4

(UNOSOM)
UNITAF Transition
 March, 1993 President Clinton wants
to transition back to UN control
 UN wants more security first
 UNOSOM II
 Should have enforcement powers
 Establish secure environment in Somalia
 Rebuild economic, political and social life
through national reconciliation
United States
Rangers and Delta Force
 Separate military agenda from UNITAF
 UNITAF was humanitarian military relief
 Rangers and Delta Force were political
 Looking to weaken or topple the
Aideed organization
 Engaged in raids leading to the capture
of Aideed’s men
 Utilized helicopters and quick assaults
Somalia, 1993

Lt. Col. Johnson of the 22rd ARW Public

Affairs Office interacts with Somali
children

American soldiers and journalists walked

openly and casually down the streets of
Mogadishu
http://www.flickr.com/photos/virtualsugar/
1502670392/in/set-72157594529957406/
October 3, 1993 1

 Mission to capture two of Aideed’s lieutenants

 Informant identified location of meeting across from the
Olympic Hotel near the Bakara Market; heart of Aideed’s
territory
 Men and Machines
 4 AH-6 Little Bird helicopters initial sweep and rear security
 4 MH-6 Little Bird helicopters carrying Delta Force
 8 Black Hawk Helicopters carrying Delta Force, Rangers, CSAR
(Combat Search and Rescue Team), and mission commanders
 9 Humvees and three 5-ton trucks carrying Delta Operators,
Rangers, SEAL (Sea, Air, Land) Team Six
 3 surveillance birds and 1 spy plane
 160 men total
 Bloodiest battle in any
UN peacekeeping
operation:
*18 American soldiers
dead, 78 wounded
*An American and a
Nigerian Captured
*Approximately 500
Somalis killed, 1000+
wounded
-Bowden, 1999

http://www.empereur.com/nations/
somalia/rangerlocation.gif
October 3, 1993 2

 Chalk 4 roped in one block north of

drop point
 Private First Class Blackburn fell 70
feet to the road
 Needed to be evacuated
 Initial success of mission
 Delta found targets in building
October 3, 1993 3

 All chalks begin taking fire

 Humvee convey evacuating Blackburn hit,
suffer one casualty, but make it out
 Road blocks begin to be erected by Somalis
 Chief Warrant Officer Cliff Wolcott’s Black
Hawk Super Six One is hit
 Delta has detainees and is re-loaded on
Humvees
October 3, 1993 4

http://www.specialoperations.com/
Operations/Restore_Hope/mog.jpg

 Rescue attempt begins

 Heavy fire, poor communications
 “Lost Convoy”
 Ground forces become pinned down
October 3, 1993 5

 Chief Warrant Officer

Mike Durant’s
BlackHawk Super 64
 Responsible for Chalk
1 deployment
 Providing support
 Took over Wolcott’s
route when he went
down
 Hit by RPG, goes down

From: Bowden, M. Black Hawk Down.

October 3, 1993 6

 Durant went down south of the fighting

 BlackHawk Landed upright
 Air rescue already in at the first crash site
 No ground reinforcements could get to Durant
 Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart and Master
Sergeant Gary Gordon
 Delta snipers
 On BlackHawk Super Six Two circling Durant’s site
 Rope in to provide support to the crash site
October 3, 1993 7

 Durant and Co-pilot Ray Frank regain consciousness

 Durant: broken leg and crushed vertebrae
 Frank: crushed vertebrae
 Shughart and Gordon get Durant, Frank and Staff
Sergeant Bill Cleveland and Sergeant Tommie Field
out of the BlackHawk
 Somalis closing in on the position
 Only additional support coming from the air
 No ground support
 Site is quickly over-run
 All are killed except for Durant who is captured
October 3, 1993 8

 Rescue: 10th Mountain Companies, UN’s

Pakistani and Malaysian forces
 Initial confusion over responsibilities
 US controlled the mission, but UN forces were
unpredictable
 Many US soldiers had to run out of the fight
 Return to the Pakistani base of operations
 Receive medical treatment
 Mike Durant
Winn Mahuron, Tommie Field, Bill
Cleveland, Ray Frank and Mike
Durant
Mike Durant giving thumbs up to
photographers.
For more information about Mike Durant and to view larger images of the
above pictures, click the following link and go to Media:
http://www.mikedurant.com/
Mike Durant
 Initial capture
 Mo’alim Jousuf Dahir, Aideed faction
 Striped of his clothing, kicked, hit, rifle butt to the face, blind-folded
 Taken by rebels
 Driven around
 Held for initial hours as a hostage, not prisoner of war
 Takes ricochet bullet to the shoulder
 Asked to make videotape, responds “No”
 Durant: “No, I’m not a Ranger.”
 Interviewer: “You kill people innocent.”
 Durant: “Innocent people being killed is not good.”
 Given basic medical treatment
 Aideed pays ransom
 Abdullahi Hassan “Firimbi” Propaganda minister for Aideed
 Durant is moved
Mike Durant
 Decent treatment
 Aideed wanted to trade with the US
 Received visitors after five days
 International Red Cross
 Reporters from The Guardian and Liberation
 “Too many innocent people are getting killed.
People are angry because they see civilians
getting killed. I don’t think anyone who doesn’t
live here can understand what is going wrong
here. Americans mean well. We did try to help.
Things have gone wrong.” –Michael Durant
http://www.mikedurant.com/
Release
 US would not
negotiate with Aideed
 Either release or a
rescue effort would
begin
 Aideed believed the
release would show
the goodwill of his
faction
 Turned over to Red
Cross officials 'http://img336.imageshack.us/my.php?
 Brought to airport and image=mikedurant9rx.jpg'><img
src='http://img336.imageshack.us/img336/3494/mik
transported to edurant9rx.th.jpg' border='0'/></a>
Germany
United States Political
Realities
 US distracted by other events
 Clinton new to office
 European ‘issues’
 Humanitarian mission
 Famine and drought
 Clinton announces troop withdrawal by
March, 1994
 US mission scrapped
United Nations Response
 Aideed called for a cease-fire
 November 1993 UN Resolution
 Suspension called for the arrest of Aideed
 Mimicked US policy
 Somali reconciliation: Military troops were
removed
 Somalis would need to provide security to aid
workers on their own
 UNOSOM runs until March, 1995
Since March, 1994
 Aideed dies
 Somalia is a Collapsed State
 Lawlessness
 Street crime
 Kidnapping
 Armed Conflict
 Clan fighting continues
 Lack of a Central Government
 Many powerful warlords prefer the current system
 Somalis fear a strong-armed government
 Private business owners profit from the chaos
Somalia Today
 “The bottom line is that, unless the United
States works aggressively with Somali,
regional actors and the international
community to create stability in Somali, that
country will remain what it has been since
the early 1990s, a haven for terrorists and
warlords and a source of instability in a
critical region.” --Senator Russ Feingold, Committee of Foreign
Relations, 2008
Government Structure
 Transitional Federal Institutions
 Established 2004 to run until 2009
 Elections for a permanent government to
be held in 2009
 Transitional President Abdullahi Yusuf
Ahmed, parliamentary legislative branch,
no functioning judicial branch
 Union of Islamic Courts