Somalia

History

Main article: History of Somalia

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Independence of Somaliland from Britain was on June 26,1960 and on July 1,1960 unification of the British and ex-Italian Somali protectorates took place. The government formed with Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as the Prime Minister and Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as the provisional President. Mohammed Ibrahim Egal, Prime Minister of Somaliland, wass appointed Minister of Defence.

Related Topics:
Britain - June 26 - 1960 - July 1 - British - Italian - Abdirashid Ali Shermarke - Prime Minister - Aden Abdullah Osman Daar - President - Ibrahim Egal

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In late 1969, a military government assumed power following the assassination of Shermarke. Mohamed Siad Barre, a general of the military forces, became the president. The revolutionary army leaders, headed by Barre, started grand scale public works. They also successfully implemented an urban and rural literacy campaign, in which they helped increase the literacy rate from 5% to 55% by the mid-1980s.

Related Topics:
Military government - Mohamed Siad Barre - 1980s

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Intermittent civil war has been a fact of life in Somalia since 1977. In 1991, the northern portion of the country declared its independence as Somaliland; although de facto independent and relatively stable compared to the tumultuous south, it has not been recognized by any foreign government.

Related Topics:
Civil war - 1977 - 1991 - Somaliland

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Beginning in 1993, a two-year UN humanitarian effort (primarily in the south) was able to alleviate famine conditions, but when the UN withdrew in Operation United Shield by March 3 1995, having suffered significant casualties, order had still not been restored.

Related Topics:
1993 - UN - Operation United Shield - March 3 - 1995

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Yet another secession from Somalia took place in the northeastern region. The self-proclaimed state took the name Puntland after declaring "temporary" independence in 1998, with the intention that it would participate in any Somali reconciliation to form a new central government.

Related Topics:
Puntland - 1998

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A third secession occurred in 1998 with the declaration of the state of Jubaland. The territory of Jubaland is now encompassed by the state of Southwestern Somalia and its status is unclear.

Related Topics:
Jubaland - Southwestern Somalia

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A fourth 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 and Bakool regions of south and central Somalia in 1999.

Related Topics:
Rahanweyn Resistance Army - 1999 - 2002

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Somalia was one of the many countries devastated by the tsunami which struck the Indian Ocean coast following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, destroying entire villages and killing an estimated 300 people.

Related Topics:
Indian Ocean - 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

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On October 2004, a Transitional Federal Government, led by President Abdullahi Yusuf (leader of Puntland) and Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Ghedi, was elected in Nairobi, Kenya after a period of two years of negotiations sponsored by the international community and hosted by the regional authority on peace and development, IGAD, which comprises Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Uganda, Eritrea and Sudan. The government, which includes several leading warlords, remains in exile in Kenya.

Related Topics:
October 2004 - Abdullahi Yusuf - Ali Muhammad Ghedi - Nairobi - Kenya - IGAD - Uganda - Eritrea - Sudan

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