Somalia

Somalia was formed of British and Italian protectorates in 1960. It was ruled continuously by General Said Barre until his ouster in 1991. During his reign, Somalia was a Cold War proxy for the US and Russia. Massive amounts of aid and weapons went into the country, which fed corruption from Barre's government. This deepened tribal resentment as some groups received more help than others. When Barre fled the country in 1991 after a tribal uprising, the country entered a civil war that it still has not resolved. Throughout the war, varying tribes have taken control, each to turn against their former masters with brutal violence. Cease fires and and shaky governments have been established briefly in the past 20 years, but ultimately the conflict is a struggle for control between varying tribal groups and with the introduction of Islamists, religious groups as well. In 1992, the UN established UNITAF, a US led peace keeping force charged with maintaining peace and safely escorting humanitarian aid. This involvement was motivated in part by large oil concessions granted to AMOCO, CONOCO, and Chevron. The US pulled out in 1993 after the Black Hawk Down incident that left 18 Americans dead. The UN left in 1995. Ethiopian occupation of parts of the east, under the pretense of preventing the spread of violent Islamist groups, complicates things further. The Islamist group the ICU was defeated in 2007, which prompted support from 8,000 peacekeepers sent by neighboring African nations. Ethiopian forces withdrew shortly there after, and in 2009 the ICU re-emerged, capturing much of the south and most of Mogadishu. The US continues military involvement with strikes against al-Qaeda targets in Somalia. The civil war between the ICU and the Somali transitional government is hampered by foreign jihadi fighters working with the ICU and tribal infighting amongst the secular Somali government.