Somali-US relations timeline

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

advertisements

Key dates in relations between Somalia and the United States since 1991, as US Secretary of State John Kerry makes a landmark visit to the struggling African nation.

1991: Civil war breaks out

Somali dictator and president Siad Barre is ousted by a rebel offensive in late January. A civil war erupts in the capital Mogadishu between rival warlords. Somalia collapses.

The United States evacuates its citizens and closes its embassy.

1992: Operation Restore Hope is launched

On December 4, US President George H. Bush announces that a "large security force" will be sent to Somali, a day after the UN Security Council authorises a multinational military and humanitarian mission to the country.

On December 9, Operation Restore Hope begins to help Somalis, of whom more than 300,000 have died in two years. The multinational force is placed under US command and will comprise up to 38,000 soldiers, including 28,000 from the US.

1993: The Battle of Mogadishu

On October 3, a US special forces raid sent to capture top aides to warlord Mohamed Farah Aidid turns into disaster when two Black Hawk helicopters are shot down. A 15-hour battle ensues during which 18 US soldiers are killed and 75 wounded. According to US sources, some 300 Somalis are killed as well.

Images of dead US soldiers being dragged in the streets shocks the US public, and new US President Bill Clinton decides to wind down the military mission quickly.

2001: Anti-US attacks in Kenya and Tanzania

Somalia is suspected of hosting Al-Qaeda militants who claimed attacks against US embassies in neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania that kill 224 people.

In late 2001, the US deploys troops to Djibouti, another Somali neighbour, as part of an international campaign against terrorism. It is the only US military base in Africa.

2007: US raids in Somalia

On January 3, the US Navy deploys ships off the Somali coast to cut off Islamists who are fighting Ethiopian ground forces.

Islamist fighters had been pushed out of Mogadishu in 2006 but still controlled swathes of central and southern Somalia.

On January 9, the US launches attacks against suspected Al-Qaeda leaders in southern Somalia.

2009: Piracy

On April 8, Somali pirates attack the US container ship Maersk Alabama in the Indian Ocean and briefly seize the vessel with 20 US citizens on board. Captain Richard Phillips and the pirates spend five days on a lifeboat before he is freed by US Navy Seals.

2013: Somali president received at the White House

On January 17, US President Barack Obama receives newly-elected Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, officially recognizing a Somali government for the first time since 1991.

2014: Shebab leader killed by US strike

On September 1, the leader of Somali Islamist group Shebab, Ahmed Abdi Godane, is killed by a US airstrike carried out with the help of special forces and drones.

2015: First US ambassador since 1991

On February 25, the US names Katherine S. Dhanani as its first ambassador to Somalia since 1991. Washington does not open an embassy however, and Dhanani works from the US embassy in Nairobi.

On May 5, US Secretary of State John Kerry makes a surprise visit to Somalia, marking a US diplomatic return for the first time since the 1993 military disaster.

Home
Email

Hiiraan Online