Essay On Somalia Crisis

nited Nations Operations in Somalia 1992-1995: A study of the failures of Western peacekeeping efforts

Introduction:

Crisis in Somalia/Build up to Intervention:

Somali state collapse in 1991 came about through an amalgamation of internal and external factors. External factors contributing to the eventual collapse included the legacies of European colonialism that separated the Somali people into five states or around 14 sub-clans, the impact of Cold War politics, and the cumulative effect of wars with neighbour states, most detrimentally the 1977-78 Ogaden war with Ethiopia. Internally, the key factor was the contradictions of the centralised state authority.

Arguably the crisis began in 1988 when an armed insurgency, the Somali National Movement (SNM), attacked government garrisons in the north of the country. The SNM formed in the early 1980s and drew its support from the Isaaq clan. The government responded to the attack of 1988 with a brutal assault on the Isaaq clan, killing almost 50,000 people and forcing over half a million to flee to neighbouring states such as Ethiopia and Djibouti.

Finally, in 1991, President Siyad Barre’s government fell. Central and Southern Somalia fell quickly into heavily armed, violent chaos, and warfare between rival sub-clans in the capital Mogadishu led to the obliteration of much of the city. Pillaging of villages and unimpeded criminality eventually led to a catastrophic famine which is estimated to have claimed over 250,000 lives.

What is the state?

The idea of ‘state collapse’ within Somalia, as well as the need for intervention, relies upon the idea that Somalia itself was at some point a functioning ‘state’. Somalia was a country that had experienced excessive amounts of political v...

... middle of paper ...

...her.

By November 1992, General Mohamed Farrah Aidid, the main Warlord in Somalia, had become confident enough to defy outright the Security Council and demand the withdrawal of peace keepers, as well as proclaiming aggressive intent against further UN deployments. This came about partially due to the events of October 1992, when a 500-man Pakistani battalion was pinned down at Mogadishu airport. The UN had negotiated with the Hawadle sub-clan for security, rather than directly with Aidid, at which Aidid took offence, leading him to believe that the UN was predisposed against him. This key idea of the lack of impartiality of the UN proved to be a key issue throughout the intervention.

UNOSOM 2:

The mandate of UNOSOM II was to take appropriate action, including enforcement measures, to establish throughout Somalia a secure environment for humanitarian assistance.