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Updated:
August 25, 2008 |
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A Brief History
In
the late 18th century, as European nations hurriedly divided
Africa among themselves as imperial colonies, Great Britain,
France and Italy all laid claims to various parts of the area
now known as Somalia. For 40 years, the British controlled
northern Somalia because of its access to the Red Sea, and
the Italians ruled southern Somalia while the French had little
impact on the region.
In the 1920s, Fascist Italy consolidated control, reaching
into the northern parts of the country while simultaneously
taking over Ethiopia and Djibouti, giving Italian leader Benito
Mussolini control of all of East Africa.
During World War II, the majority of Somalia came under British
control once again, and what was left of the Italian territory
was placed under an international trusteeship after the war.
Both territories gained independence in 1960 and merged to
form modern-day Somalia, but the country suffered from a tumultuous
political atmosphere and Somalia's sitting president was assassinated
in a military coup just 10 years later.
Muhammad Siad Barre became Somalia's new president in 1969
and founded Barre's Supreme Revolutionary Council as the sole
political party in Somalia; Barre also abolished the National
Assembly and the country's constitution.
Barre spent much of his reign attempting to rid his country
of tribalism and ethnic segregation, turning Somalia into
a socialist state in the process. According to Human Rights
Watch, in the 1980s Barre cracked down on opposing factions,
killing thousands and creating hundreds of thousands of refugees.
He was deposed in late January 1991, signaling the start of
the Somali Civil War.
Sources: CIA World Factbook, BBC,
NewsHour reports |
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