As leaders meet in London
to discuss the future of Somalia,
we look at some of the key moments in the modern history of a country
transformed beyond recognition over the past four decades
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The Somali capital Mogadishu, December 1969
Since this picture was taken, Somalia has experienced almost continual
conflict and insecurity. Here, we chart a brief history of the country.
The story begins in 1950, when Italian Somaliland (southern Somalia)
became a UN trust territory under Italian administration. Renamed
Somalia six years later, the country was granted internal autonomy and
subsequently held its first elections, won by the Somali Youth League.
In July 1960, both British and Italian Somaliland were granted
independence, uniting to form the independent Republic of Somalia. Aden
Abdullah Osman Daar became the first president, but the new country's
borders were not clearly defined, and there were border skirmishes and
hostilities with Kenya and Ethiopia throughout the 1960s |
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| Somalian prime minister Abdurashid Ali Shermarke,
shown on the right, with the Somalian president Aden Abdullah Osman Daar
(L). In 1967, the president was defeated in elections by his former
prime minister, Abdirashid Ali Shermarke |
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| On 15 October 1969, President Shermarke was
assassinated by a member of his own police force. Mohamed Siad Barre,
pictured, seized power in the subsequent coup, and in 1970 declared
Somalia a socialist state, strengthening ties with the Soviet Union and
subjecting the country to his ideology of 'scientific socialism' |
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| In 1974, Somalia joined the Arab League. In
1977-78, Somali forces invaded the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, an area
inhabited by Somalis that had been the subject of border hostilities in
the 1960s. The Somali troops were forced out by the Soviets and Cubans,
prompting Barre to expel his Soviet advisers and strengthen ties with
the US. Somalia and Ethiopia signed a peace accord in 1988 |
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| In 1991, Barre was forced out of office. The
collapse of government led to ongoing feudal struggles and civil war,
resulting in the arrival of a UN peacekeeping mission, which operated in
Somalia between 1992 and 1995 |
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| The feudal struggles and civil discord that
followed the failure of Barre's administration led to a serious
humanitarian crisis in Somalia, prompting action from the international
community. Here, a mother mourns the death of her son |
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| In 1992, the US military arrived in Somalia.
Operation Restore Hope involved protecting food packages from warlords.
The following year, Somali rebels shot down two US helicopters, leading
to a battle in which hundreds of Somali citizens were killed |
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| On 24 September 2001, the UN announced the
withdrawal of all its international staff from Somalia, saying it was no
longer able to guarantee their safety. The following year, the US
announced increased military operations in the country, which it
suspected of being an al-Qaida refuge |
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| On 10 October 2004, the transitional federal
government was inaugurated in Kenya, with Abdullahi Yusuf elected
president. It was the 14th attempt to restore central government since
1991. Yusuf called on the international community 'to stand by us and
help us disarm our militias'. In 2005, the transitional government
returned from Kenya to Somalia, but divisions remained. Rebels began to
hijack food shipments off the coast, leading to the suspension of
several aid programmes. On 30 May, rival factions battled for control of
Baidoa in south-west Somalia, where Yusuf planned to establish a
temporary capital. In November, gunmen attempted to assassinate interim
prime minister Ali Mohamed Gedi, attacking his convoy in Mogadishu. In
2006, Mogadishu experienced the worst violence in more than a decade as
fierce fighting broke out between rival militias. On 26 February 2006,
the transitional government met for the first time on home soil, in
Baidoa |
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| In March 2006, the UN issued an urgent plea for
aid as more than 2 million people faced drought. In May, the British
international development secretary, Hilary Benn, visited the country,
pledging £8m in aid and £1.5m 'to support the functioning of the
parliament and ministers' |
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| In June 2006, the Islamic Courts Union, a militia
group, took control of the capital, promising to bring order and an
Islamic state. A ceasefire was agreed with the interim government, but
quickly broke down. Mogadishu’s airport and seaports reopened after 11
years. In July, Ethiopian troops entered Somalia to oppose the Islamic
militia. On 18 September 2006, President Yusuf escaped an assassination
attempt when a suicide car bomb exploded outside parliament. He blamed
al-Qaida. The same month, the Islamic Courts Union and the government
attempted peace talks in Karthoum, Sudan. On 9 October 2006, Islamic
militia leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed declared a jihad against Ethiopia for
supporting the interim government. Fierce fighting ensued between the
two sides, prompting thousands of Somalis to flee the country. On 24
December 2006, Ethiopia admitted it was involved in fighting against the
Islamic Courts Union |
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| The same month, a UN security council resolution
declared that no neighbouring states should send their forces into
Somalia and that only African Union peacekeepers should be involved. The
resolution was ignored by Ethiopia, which sent the Islamists into
retreat. On 27 December 2006, Ethiopia was urged to withdraw by the
African Union and the Arab League. The next day, Mogadishu was
recaptured by the government with the help of Ethiopian troops. In
January 2007, the transitional government regained control, with
President Yusuf entering Mogadishu for the first time since becoming
president |
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| In February 2007, the UN authorised an African
Union peacekeeping mission. In June, the US carried out air strikes, the
first known American direct military intervention since 1993, targeting
al-Qaida figures in southern Somalia. The next month, Islamist leaders
boycotted a national reconciliation conference in Mogadishu. The
Ethiopian prime minister promised not to withdraw troops until the
'jihadists' were defeated. Ethiopian, Somali and Islamist forces were
accused of war crimes by Human Rights Watch, which claimed the UN
security council was indifferent to the issue. In June, the government
and the opposition Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia signed a
three-month ceasefire pact. This was rejected by Islamist leader Hassan
Dahir Aweys, who wanted all foreign troops out first. In July, gunmen
killed the head of the UN Development Programme in Somalia, Osman Ali
Ahmed. Prime minister Ghedi resigned in October, and was replaced the
following month by Nur Hassan Hussein |
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| In April 2008, the EU appealed for more help from
the international community to deal with the piracy problem along the
coast. As the issue became more pressing, the UN security council voted
in May to allow other countries’ warships to patrol Somalia’s
territorial waters. In September, the US and other countries sent navy
ships to Somalia after a Ukrainian ship was seized by pirates. In
October, Nato agreed to send a naval force to the region by the end of
the year. In November, pirates demanded a $25m ransom for a Saudi
supertanker. In April the following year, French commandos carried out a
sea rescue of a French family held hostage for a week by Somali
pirates. One hostage was killed during the operation. In November 2009,
British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler were kidnapped by Somali
pirates. They were eventually freed in November 2010 |
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| In December, Ethiopia said it would withdraw its
troops, which it did the following month. President Yusuf resigned after
his prime minister, whom he had tried to sack for attempting to bring
moderate Islamists into the government, received a vote of confidence.
In January 2009, former ICU co-leader, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, became
president. Government and African Union peacekeepers continued to be
attacked by Islamist insurgents, who deployed suicide bombers. In
February 2010, al-Shabaab made a formal declaration of its alliance with
al-Qaida |
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| By 2008, 3.5 million Somalis were affected by
severe food shortages. In March 2010, a leaked UN security council
report claimed that corrupt contractors and militants were taking up to
50% of food aid before it reached people in need. As October-December
rains failed, concerns about the potential for major food insecurities
in Somalia began to surface. The UN and aid agencies warned they were
seeing more cases of malnutrition in parts of the country as a result of
the drought. In February 2011, the Somalia parliament voted to extend
its term for three years |
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| In July 2011, the UN declared famine in south
Somalia and al-Shabaab allowed foreign aid agencies access to some
areas. In August, al-Shabaab retreated from Mogadishu. In October,
following attacks by suspected al-Shabaab insurgents in Kenyan resorts,
Kenyan troops entered Somalia. More than 100 people were killed in a
Mogadishu suicide bomb attack. The following month, al-Shabaab militants
who control areas of south and central Somalia announced they were
banning 16 aid agencies from the region. These areas were hardest hit by
the famine. In December, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon flew to
Mogadishu |
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The Somali capital Mogadishu, August 2011
In
January 2012, al-Shabaab banned the Red Cross from operating in areas
under its control. A month later, al-Shabaab officially merged with
al-Qaida. The UN declared an end to the famine in Somalia, but warned
the country would need continued humanitarian support if the 'fragile'
gains were not to be lost. On 23 February, foreign ministers from around
the world, including the president and prime minister of Somalia, met
for a high-level conference in London to discuss the country’s future.
Civil society groups expressed concern that humanitarian issues would be
left off the agenda |
