Peacekeeping in Somalia By: Kevin Doten Martin Frazee Dylan Williams

Colonization First inhabited by large clan-families –These clans had up to 1 million members –They had no hierarchy of power nor were there different classes of people within and between the clans. Colonized in the 1880s by Europeans which developed a capitalistic economy in the area which lead to the creation of classes as well as the creation of arbitrary boundaries. –Britain in 1886 colonized Northern Somalia –Italy made agreements with Britain and Ethiopia for territory called ‘Italian Somaliland’

Independence In 1940, when Italy and Britain went to war Italy captured the British territory of Somalia The following year Britain responded by capturing all of Italy’s Somalian territory On July 1, 1960, Somalia was granted independence but was not given all of its pre- colonization territory

Present Boundaries & Area of Somali people inhabitation

Somalia and the Cold War Somalia, like other African nations, were courted with aid by both the US and USSR In 1961, the US gave Somalia military aid The USSR responded in 1963 with $30 million in aid which led to another $18 million from the US and allies In 1964, nomadic Somalis that lived in Ethiopia began to fight the Ethiopian army leading the US to side with Ethiopia and the USSR to side with Somalia and Ethiopia with US backing would quickly win.

The Rise of Conflict The end of the Cold War also led to an end of aid to Somalia –The lack of aid lead to the economy collapsing –The Somali then stop paying taxes in order to topple the dictatorship of Siad Barre –Barre then order the army to steal from peasants at gunpoint in order to maintain control –The chaos worsened due to the abundance of arms supplied during the cold war by the superpowers –Dr. Ismail Jumale Ossoble, who was popularly supported to take over after the inevitable coup, began to develop a militia in order to prepare for the coup

The Split in the Militia General Mohamed Farah Hassan Aideed was Jumale’s choice to lead the militia. –Aideed established his army in Ethiopia in June of 1990 The army was a militant branch of the United Somali Congress-Ethiopia (USC) The USC had three branches: USC-Rome, USC-Ethiopia, and USC-Mogadishu Ali Mahdi Mohamed, Aideed’s rival, resented Aideed’s interjection into the USC and was with USC-Rome The two forces focused on the coup effort

Power Struggle in Somalia In August 1990, Jumale died as forcers were on the border and steps were in place to take power from Barre Mahdi had the support of USC-Rome and announced himself the official interim president of Somalia which lasted for 28 days. The fall of this interim government led to a power struggle between Mahdi’s supporters and Aideed’s supporters resulting in the violence that lead to the peacekeepers going into Somalia

Difficult Characteristics of Somalia Physical –The geographic makeup of the land made it time consuming to get troops to the area by both air and sea Infrastructure –Roads were in poor shape –One international airport, located in the capital –Ports on the coastline were not functional –Telephone system was poor Clans –14 clans each claiming a region and all were well armed Drought –An epic drought in 1992 caused over half a million Somalis to die and a million more at risk of starvation

Chart of Peacekeeping Operations

UNOSOM UNOSOM was a result of Resolution 751 of the UN in April 1992 It was to distribute aid, and act as an arbitrator to end the violence between the clans It created a fortress in the capital, Mogadishu, for $50 million in order to protect civilians and military personnel In July 1992, a report state that there was no improvement so after an attempt to airlift food failed military intervention was deemed necessary

UNITAF On December 4, 1992, President Bush made public the beginning of Operation Restore Hope This was done under UN resolution 794, which the goals were to create stability in the South so that the peacekeeping effort of UNOSOM could continue. The US controlled force was relatively successful as the 38,000 strong military effort was able to pacify the South and distribute aid to stop the starvation of the Somalis

UNOSOM II The relative success of UNITAF did not stop UNOSOM II which established permanent peacekeepers Started in March 1993 with 28,000 soldiers and reduced to 14,968 by February 1994 Goals of UNOSOM II: –Disarmament of Somali Clans –Creating and fixing economic institutions –Bringing the entire country to peace

Failures of UNOSOM II UNOSOM II’s mission was far beyond its ability –It was impossible to create peace throughout the entire country with less troops then UNITAF, which only created stability in the capital In response to public opinion, President Clinton pulled out all US troops and all other countries followed suit over the next two years ultimately ending UNOSOM II

Proposition 1 The UN should have intervened?

Proposition 2 The peacekeeping operation was a success?

Proposition 3 The peacekeepers need greater force to compel groups to adhere to its goals?

Proposition 4 Peacekeeping operations will only work if they involve the building of social, economic, and political institutions?

Proposition 5 Failed States are the center of international terrorism?