Somali Civil War 3070332 225445387 2008-07-13T19:00:16Z Threepwood89 332351 /* UN Intervention (1992–1995) */ {{Infobox Military Conflict |conflict=Somali Civil War |image=[[Image:Mogadishu technical.jpg|300px|]] |caption=A [[Technical (fighting vehicle)|technical]] in Mogadishu |date= 1988 - current |place=[[Somalia]] |status=ongoing |combatant1= |combatant2= |commander1= |commander2= |strength1= |strength2= |casualties3='''Casualties''':<br>300,000<ref>[http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat3.htm Twentieth Century Atlas - Death Tolls and Casualty Statistics for Wars, Dictatorships and Genocides<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> - 400,000<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2004/11/mil-041105-irin03.htm Hundreds of thousands killed in years of war, says new president<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> dead |}}{{Campaignbox Horn of Africa}} {{Campaignbox Somali Civil War}} The '''Somali Civil War''' is an [[civil war|armed conflict]] in [[Somalia]] that started in 1988. ==Downfall of Siad Barre (1986–1992)== {{main|Somalian Revolution (1986–1992)}} The first phase of the civil war stemmed from the insurrections against the repressive regime of [[Siad Barre]]. After his ousting from power, a counter-revolution took place to attempt to reinstate him as leader of the country. The increasingly violent and chaotic situation evolved to a humanitarian crisis and to a state of anarchy. In 1991, to insulate it from the more violent fighting in the south, the [[Somaliland|Republic of Somaliland]] declared itself independent, though it was not formally recognized as such by the international community. It comprises the northwestern section of the country (between [[Djibouti]] and the northeastern area known as [[Puntland]]). == UN Intervention (1992–1995) == {{main|UNOSOM I|UNITAF|UNOSOM II}} [[UN Security Council Resolution 733]] and [[UN Security Council Resolution 746]] led to the creation of [[UNOSOM I]], the first mission to provide humanitarian relief and help restore order in Somalia after the dissolution of its central government. [[UN Security Council Resolution 794]] was unanimously passed on [[December 3]], [[1992]], which approved a coalition of [[United Nations]] peacekeepers led by the [[United States]] to form [[UNITAF]], tasked with ensuring humanitarian aid being distributed and peace being established in Somalia. The UN humanitarian troops landed in 1993 and started a two-year effort (primarily in the south) to alleviate famine conditions. [[Image:Aus wheat in Somalia.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Somalis and [[Australian Army]] soldiers wait near the loading zone of a US Marine CH-53 Sea Stallion delivering Australian wheat]] Critics of US involvement pointed out that "just before pro-U.S. President Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991, nearly two-thirds of the country's territory had been granted as oil concessions to [[Conoco]], [[Amoco]], [[Chevron Corporation|Chevron]] and [[Phillips]]. Conoco even lent its Mogadishu corporate compound to the U.S. embassy a few days before the Marines landed, with the first Bush administration's special envoy using it as his temporary headquarters."<ref>{{cite journal| first =Steve | last =Kretzman| authorlink =| coauthors =| year =2003| month =Jan/Feb | title =Oil, Security, War The geopolitics of U.S. energy planning| journal =Multinational Monitor magazine| volume =| issue =| pages =| id =| url =http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Oil_watch/Oil_Security_War.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| first =Mark| last =Fineman | authorlink =| coauthors =| year =1993| month =January 18| title =Column One; The Oil Factor In Somalia;Four American Petroleum Giants Had Agreements With The African Nation Before Its Civil War Began. They Could Reap Big Rewards If Peace Is Restored.| journal =Los Angeles Times| volume =| issue =| pages =p. 1| id =| url =http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/70509.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| first =Dev | last =George| authorlink =| coauthors =| year =1995| month = | title =Will the majors return to Somalia? | journal =Offshore| volume =| issue =| pages =p. 8| id =| url =http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/70792.html}}</ref> The cynical assertion was that, rather than a purely humanitarian gesture, the US was stepping in to gain control of oil concessions. Somalia has no proven reserves of oil, but there is considered to be possible reserves off Puntland. Even today, oil exploration remains a controversy. The [[Transitional Federal Government]] has warned investors to not make deals until stability is once again brought to the country.<ref name=ABDILLAHI-YUSUFS-TRANSITIONAL-GOVERNMENT-AND-PUNTLAND-OIL-DEALS>{{cite news |title=Abdillahi Yusuf’s Transitional ‎Government And Puntland Oil Deals |url=http://www.somalilandtimes.net/196/10728.shtml |publisher=[[Somaliland Times]] |accessdate=2007-01-10 }}</ref> For many reasons not least of which were concerns of [[imperialism]], Somalis opposed the foreign presence. At first, the Somali people were happy about the rations the UN and U.S. troops brought them but soon came to believe that the latter were out to convert them from their religion. This idea is thought by some to have been introduced by the warlord [[Mohamed Farrah Aidid]]. In the period between June and October, several gun battles in Mogadishu between local gunmen and peacekeepers resulted in the death of 24 Pakistanis and 19 US soldiers (total US deaths were 31), most of whom were killed in the [[Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|Battle of Mogadishu]]. 1000 Somali militia were killed in that battle. The incident later became the basis for the [[Black Hawk Down (book)|book]] and movie: [[Black Hawk Down (film)|Black Hawk Down]]. The UN withdrew on [[March 3]], [[1995]], having suffered more significant casualties. Order in Somalia still had not been restored. ==Division of Somalia (1998-2006)== {{main|Consolidation of States Within Somalia (1998-2006)|Attempts at Reconciliation in Somalia (1991-2004)}} The period of 1998–2006 saw the declaration of a number of self-declared autonomous states within Somalia. Unlike [[Somaliland]], they were all movements of autonomy, but not outright claims of independence. The self-proclaimed state of [[Puntland]] declared "temporary" independence in 1998, with the intention that it would participate in any Somali reconciliation to form a new central government. A second movement occurred in 1998 with the declaration of the state of [[Jubaland]] in the south. A third self-proclaimed entity led by the [[Rahanweyn Resistance Army]](RRA) was set up in 1999, along the lines of the Puntland. That "temporary" secession was reasserted in 2002. This led to the autonomy of [[Southwestern Somalia]]. The RRA had originally set up an autonomous administration over the [[Bay, Somalia|Bay]] and [[Bakool]] regions of south and central Somalia in 1999. The territory of Jubaland was declared as encompassed by the state of Southwestern Somalia and its status is unclear. A fourth self-declared state was formed as [[Galmudug]] in 2006 in response to the growing power of the [[Islamic Courts Union]]. Somaliland is also seen as an autonomous state by many Somalis even though its natives go another step in pronouncing full independence. Also during this period, various attempts at reconciliation met with lesser or greater measures of success. Movements such as the pan-tribal [[Transitional National Government]] (TNG) and the [[Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council]] (SRRC) eventually led to the foundation, in November 2004, of the [[Transitional Federal Government]] (TFG). However, warlord and clan-based violence continued throughout the period and the so-called national government movements had little control over the country at the time. == Rise of the ICU, War with the ARPCT, TFG and Ethiopia (2006–present) == {{main|Somali Civil War (2006-present)|War in Somalia (2006–present)|Transitional Federal Government|ARPCT|Islamic Courts Union}} In 2004, the [[Transitional Federal Government]] (TFG) was founded in [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]]. Matters were still too chaotic inside Somalia to convene in Mogadishu. In early 2006, the TFG moved to establish a temporary seat of government in [[Baidoa]]. During the early part of 2006, the [[Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism]] (ARPCT) was formed as an alliance of mostly-secular Mogadishu-based warlords. They were opposed to the rise of the Sharia-law oriented [[Islamic Courts Union]] (ICU), which had been rapidly consolidating power. They were backed by funding from the US [[CIA]].<ref name=THE-FINAL-CALL>[http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_2716.shtml UN trying to clarify problems in Somalia] - [[The Final Call]] - Jun 29, 2006</ref> This led to increasing conflict in the capital. ===Height of ICU power=== {{main|Second Battle of Mogadishu|Battle of Baidoa}} By June 2006, the ICU succeeded in capturing the capital, [[Mogadishu]], in the [[Second Battle of Mogadishu]]. They drove the ARPCT out of Mogadishu, and succeeded in persuading or forcing other warlords to join their faction. Their power base grew as they expanded to the borders of [[Puntland]] and took over southern and middle [[Jubaland]]. The Islamic movement's growing power base and militancy led to increasingly open warfare between the Islamists and the other factions of Somalia, including the [[Transitional Federal Government]] (TFG), [[Puntland]] and [[Galmudug]], the latter of which formed as an autonomous state specifically to resist the Islamists. It also caused the intervention of [[Ethiopia]], who supported the secular forces of Somalia. The ICU allegedly obtained the support of Ethiopia's rival, [[Eritrea]] and foreign [[mujahideen]], and declared [[Jihad]] against Ethiopia in response to its occupation of [[Gedo]] and deployment around [[Baidoa]]. ===Ethiopian intervention and collapse of the ICU=== {{main|Battle of Bandiradley|Battle of Beledweyne|Battle of Jowhar|Fall of Mogadishu}} In December 2006, the ICU and TFG began the [[Battle of Baidoa]]. Fighting also broke out around the Somali town of [[Bandiradley]] in [[Mudug]] and [[Beledweyn]] in [[Hiran]] region. The ICU aimed to force the Ethiopians off Somali soil. However, they were defeated in all major battles and forced to withdraw to Mogadishu. After the brief final action at the [[Battle of Jowhar]] on [[December 27]], the leaders of the ICU [[Islamic_Courts_Union#Resignation_of_Leadership|resigned]]. {{main|Battle of Jilib|Fall of Kismayo}} Following the [[Battle of Jilib]], fought [[December 31]], [[2006]], Kismayo fell to the TFG and Ethiopian forces, on [[January 1]], [[2007]]. Prime Minister [[Ali Mohammed Ghedi]] called for the country to begin [[Disarmament in Somalia (2007)|disarming]]. ===US intervention=== {{main|Battle of Ras Kamboni}} In January 2007, the [[United States]] officially militarily interceded in the country for the first time since the UN deployment of the 1990s by conducting airstrikes using [[AC-130]] gunships against Islamist positions in [[Ras Kamboni]], as part of efforts to catch or kill [[Al Qaeda]] operatives supposedly embedded within ICU forces. Unconfirmed reports also stated US advisors had been on the ground with Ethiopian and Somali forces since the beginning of the war. Naval forces were also deployed offshore to prevent escape by sea, and the border to Kenya was closed. === Islamist insurgency and reappearance of inter-clan fighting === {{main|Islamist insurgency in Somalia (2007–present)|African Union Mission to Somalia}} No sooner had the ICU been routed from the battlefield than their troops disbursed to begin a [[guerrilla war]] against Ethiopian and Somali government forces. Simultaneously, the end of the war was followed by a continuation of existing tribal conflicts. To help establish security, a proposed [[African Union Mission to Somalia]] (AMISOM) was authorized to deploy as many as 8,000 peacekeepers to the country. This mission widened the scope of countries that could participate over the earlier proposed mission led by the [[Horn of Africa]]-based nations of [[IGAD]]. The [[Islamist]] group leading the insurgency, known as the [[Popular Resistance Movement in the Land of the Two Migrations]] (PRM), vowed to oppose the presence of foreign troops. ==See also== *[[Factions in the Somali Civil War]] *[[Somaliland-Puntland dispute]] ==Notes== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== {{commons-inline|Somali Civil War}} [[Category:20th century conflicts]] [[Category:21st century conflicts]] [[Category:Wars involving Somalia|Civil War]] [[Category:Civil wars involving the states and peoples of Africa]] [[Category:Civil wars of the Modern era]] [[Category:Succession-based civil wars]] [[Category:History of Somalia]] [[Category:20th century in Somalia]] [[Category:21st century in Somalia]] [[de:Somalischer Bürgerkrieg]] [[es:Guerra Civil Somalí]] [[fr:Guerre civile somalienne]] [[hu:Szomáliai polgárháború]] [[nl:Somalische Burgeroorlog]] [[ja:ソマリア内戦]] [[pt:Guerra Civil Somali]] [[ru:Гражданская война в Сомали]] [[fi:Somalian sisällissota]] [[sv:Inbördeskriget i Somalia]]