OPERATION RESTORE HOPE AND

UN INTERVENTION IN SOMALIA Fernanda Rodlo #1745039

 BACKGROUND
•Somali dictator Mohammed Siad Barre was overthrown in January of 1991 by a coalition
of opposing clans, known as the United Somalia Congress. Shortly after the revolution,
the coalition divided into two groups, one led by Ali Mahdi and the other by Mohammed
Farah Aidid.
•in 1992 the United States led military operation as a part of an international humanitarian
and peacekeeping effort in Somalia, which had disintegrated into civil war.
•began in the summer of 1992 and ended in the spring of 1995.
• it culminated with now known as Battle of Mogadishu in October of 1993 that killed 18
U.S soldiers and hundred of Somalia militia fighters and civilians.
•The incident led to the withdrawal o the UN force and destroyed US enthusiasm for
foreign intervention.
 ACTORS INVOLVED

Somali dictator composed by

Mohamed Siad Barre Cali Mahdi Maxamed and Unified Task Force Troops from more
Muhammed Farah Aydid troops than 40 countries
approved by the
United Nations

United Somali
Congress
 • The UN Security Council approves a military mission, “Operation Restore Hope,” led by
the United States to try to help the starving country by protecting food shipments from the
1992 warlords.

• Battle of Mogadishu
• On October 3rd of 1993 the US forces made another attempt to capture Aydid, the mission
did not go as planned ending up with 18 U.S soldiers dead and 84 wounded and at least
1993 300 Somalis wounded many of them were civilians.

• The U.S. formally ends the mission to Somalia, which has cost $1.7 billion dollars and left
1995 43 U.S. soldiers dead and another 153 wounded.
 SERIES OF EVENTS THAT LED
TO THE US INTERVENTION
1. in 1991 the Somali dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in a military coup staged by a
coalition of an opposition that were composed by Cali Mahdi Maxamed (Ali Mahdi Muhammad)
and Muhammed Farah Aydid and they soon began fighting each other.
2. This incessant conflict led to the destruction of the country’s agriculture and drew the United
Nations attention when they estimated that 4.5 million of Somalis were starving to death. Because o
the international pressure the UN observers made it to enter to Somalia and make a humanitarian
effort in there.
 BATTLE OF MOGADISHU ALSO
KNOWN AS THE DAY OF THE
RANGERS BACKGROUND
•The situation that was already unstable got worse when 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed and the United
Nations unofficially blamed Avdids militia. In the following two weeks the US and UN troops attacked
targets associated with Aydid’s forces, but they failed.
 BATTLE OF MOGADISHU ALSO
KNOWN AS THE DAY OF THE
RANGERS
On October 3rd and 4th, 1993 U.S. Army forces in Mogadishu attempted to seize two of Aidid’s high
ranking lieutenants during a meeting in the capitol. The battle was fought by forces of the United
States supported by the United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOMII) and Somali militiamen
loyal to Mohamed Farrah Aidid.
After the attack, Somali militia and armed civilian forces shot down two American UH-60 Black
Hawk helicopters. The succeeding raid that began as a one-hour operation to secure and recover the
crews of both helicopters turned into an overnight battle in Mogadishu.
the mission did not go as planned ending up with the death of 24 Pakistanis, 19 U.S. soldiers, and
500‒1,000 Somalis. 
Although the mission was successful because several high ranking of Aydid associates were
apprehended it was perceived as a failure because of its high cost in human lives.
A year later the UN troops left Somalia, leaving it engulfed in clan warfare
 CONCLUSION
I believe that the first and main objective of this intervention was helping Somali people in the issue
of the lack of food, but Somalia didn’t know how to respond, and this ended up having the US military
intervention.
When cases like this happen, I think that diplomacy is your most important tool but in the perspective
of the United Nations that their only objective was helping the people that were starving to death and
having to deal with this kind of negative response I understand that they are humans too and they need
to protect their integrity and their lives.
the most feasible solution that I can think of is that when a country is giving a negative response to
your good intentions you stay away from it because you recognize your military and political power
and probably you will end up taking innocent lives until you see that the country is really willing to
receive external help you go and do the best you can.
 REFERENCES
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Somalia-intervention
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mogadishu_(1993)
http://www.warscapes.com/blog/today-history-battle-mogadishu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Task_Force
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Operation_in_Somalia_II
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/12/timeline-somalia-1991-2008/30
7190/
https://wordpress.clarku.edu/id252-ss/2015/10/29/how-not-to-do-military-intervention/