SOMALI CIVIL WAR

Introduction

• The military dictator Siad Barre ruled the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969.

• He built his country on Communist principles with the support of the Soviet Union.

• In 1977 he invaded Ethiopia with the intention of expanding his territory.

• Unfortunately the Soviet Union started supporting Ethiopia at the same time.

• Due to this he was forced to take western support and became suspicious of the ruling class.

• He started persecuting and arresting Government and Military officials after he faced an attempt to overthrow his rule in 1978.

• This increased the opposition to his rule. In 1986 he suffered a serious car accident which further weakened his government.

• From 1978 to the overthrow of his regime in 1991, he tried to crush any and every real or imagined opposition to his regime by going after each clan which he thought was not loyal to him. This later became the basic cause of the horrific Somali civil war.

Aftermath of the Conflict

There was no national government in Somalia for nearly two decades.

There is a severe lack of capacity in every part of the country to adequately address problems.

Since 1991, an estimated 3,50,000 to 10,00,000 Somalis had died because of the conflict.

The period 1991-1992 was marked by the most intense conflict, when the different clan factions fought for control of land and resources in southern Somalia

• The period 1992-1995 was centered on UN and US interventions. This phase was illuminated by localized conflicts, specifically around Mogadishu.

• The period 2000-2006 began in with the establishment of the Transitional National Government (TNG) in Arta, Djibouti, under the control of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

• The period 2006-2011 was marked by the December 2006 intervention by Ethiopian troops, which by January 2007 had effectively dispersed the Islamic courts. In its place, the militant wing al-Shabaab continued to fight against the TFG and foreign forces, and by 2008 it had regained control of much of southern Somalia.

After 2011 Somalia was mostly governed by autonomous local administrations, the biggest of which were Puntland, Somaliland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vItNx69Emtc