Somali Civil War

By: Rishab Mokkapati

Events Leading Up to the War (Causes)
From 1986 to 1992, Somalia Fought to gain its Independence. When they did
get their independence, they were a bit slow to form a stable government. This was
part of the Somalian Revolution. Siad Barre was overthrown by Ali Mahdi
Muhammad but there some people who still wanted to reinstate Siad Barre back as
the leader of the country, because of which violent fighting broke out. To insulate
the fighting, the Somaliland region of Somalia declared its independence, but it is
not identified by any nation or international organization. The region that got
independence was an area of land between Djibouti and the northeastern area
known as Puntland.
" S o m a l i C i v i l W a r. " W i k i p e d i a . W i k i m e d i a F o u n d a t i o n , I n c . , 1 1 S e p 2 0 1 0 . W e b .
1 2 S e p 2 0 1 0 . < h t t p : / / e n . w i k i p e d i a . o r g / w i k i / S o m a l i _ C i v i l _ Wa r > .

Starting of the war

Subsequent fighting among rival faction leaders resulted in the killing,
dislocation, and starvation of thousands of Somalis and led the United Nations to
intervene militarily in 1992. In 1992, responding to the political chaos and
humanitarian disaster in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched
peacekeeping operations to create an environment in which assistance could be
delivered to the Somali people. By March 1993, the potential for mass starvation in
Somalia had been overcome, but the security situation remained fragile. On 3
October 1993, US troops received significant causalities (19 dead over 80 others
wounded) in a battle with Somali gunmen. When the United States and the UN
withdrew their forces from Somalia, in 1994 and 1995 respectively, after suffering
significant casualties, order still had not been restored. Even after the fighting took
place, no government took control of the situation.
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A u g 2 0 1 0 . We b . 1 2 S e p 2 0 1 0 .
< h t t p : / / w w w. g l o b a l s e c u r i t y. o r g / m i l i t a r y / w o r l d / w a r / s o m a l i a . h t m > .

Intervention by Other Countries and Organizations

The United States of America and Ethiopia and the United Nations helped
Somalia. The US and Ethiopia sent in forces but they soon retreated. The UN gave
food and other necessities to Somalia but refused to send another peace keeping
force after suffering much causality.
After the 9/11 attacks, the United States began to take a more active role in
Somalia's affairs, fearing that the country had become a haven for terrorists. Other
Western governments hoped to bring stability to Somalia for similar reasons. In
January 2004, 2 dozen or so warlords reached a power-sharing agreement after
talks in Kenya. This agreement called for a 275-member parliament. This
Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was the 14th attempt at a government since
1991. Its head, Abdullah Yusuf, originally called for African peacekeepers to restore
order within Somalia, but many Somalis feared invasion, especially by nearby
Ethiopia. As of early October 2006, no AU or IGAD peacekeepers were scheduled to
intervene.
P i k e , J o h n . " S o m a l i a C i v i l W a r. " G l o b a l S e c u r i t y. O r g . G l o b a l S e c u r i t y. o r g , 0 3
A u g 2 0 1 0 . We b . 1 2 S e p 2 0 1 0 .
< h t t p : / / w w w. g l o b a l s e c u r i t y. o r g / m i l i t a r y / w o r l d / w a r / s o m a l i a . h t m > .