Editing Somalia (section)

=== Somali Civil War ===
{{Main|Somali Civil War|History of Somalia (1991–2006)|War in Somalia (2006–2009)|Somali Civil War (2009–present)|Isaaq genocide|Somaliland War of Independence}}
[[File:Somali Civil War Map on the 5th October 2024.svg|thumb|<!-- Do not change this map without engaging with [[File Talk:Somali Civil War (2009-present).svg]] or [[Talk:Somali Civil War]] -->
Approximate{{efn|Despite accusations of breaking rules, this map has been selected via an RfC on [[Talk:Somali Civil War]]. However, the RfC also concludes that if {{File:Somali Civil War Critical Threats.png}} ever gets an SVG variant, that should be used instead, So if you have the opportunity, please do that accordingly.}} map of the current phase of the Somali Civil War (updated December 2024){{Dubious|Sourcing|date=September 2024}}
{{leftlegend|#ebc0b3|Control of Somalia and [[African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia|allies]]}}
{{leftlegend|#b4b2ae|[[Al-Shabaab (militant group)|Presence/Control of Al-Shabaab]] and [[Al-Qaeda|allies]]}}
{{leftlegend|#e3d975|[[List of states with limited recognition|Control of the Self-declared state]] of [[Somaliland]]}}
{{leftlegend|#808080|[[Islamic State in Somalia|Control of the Islamic State]]}}|350px]]
As the [[moral authority]] of Barre's government was gradually eroded, many Somalis became disillusioned with life under military rule. By the mid-1980s, resistance movements supported by Ethiopia's communist [[Derg]] administration had sprung up across the country. Barre responded by ordering punitive measures against those he perceived as locally supporting the guerrillas, especially in the northern regions. The clampdown included bombing of cities, with the northwestern administrative centre of [[Hargeisa]], a [[Somali National Movement]] (SNM) stronghold, among the targeted areas in 1988.<ref name="Locsg">{{cite web|title=Somalia&nbsp;— Government|url=http://countrystudies.us/somalia/65.htm|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=15 February 2014|archive-date=4 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704043353/http://countrystudies.us/somalia/65.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/2013/10/22/state-sponsored-violence-and-conflict-under-mahamed-siyad-barre-the-emergence-of-path-dependent-patterns-of-violence/ |title=State-sponsored violence and conflict under Mahamed Siyad Barre: the emergence of path dependent patterns of violence |last1=Compagnon |first1=Daniel |date=22 October 2013 |publisher=[[World Peace Foundation]], [[The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy]] |access-date=7 October 2014 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002022805/https://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/2013/10/22/state-sponsored-violence-and-conflict-under-mahamed-siyad-barre-the-emergence-of-path-dependent-patterns-of-violence/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The clampdown initiated by [[Siad Barre|Barre]]'s government extended its reach beyond the initial bombings in the north to encompass various regions across the country. This reproduction of aggressive strategies aimed at stifling descent and retaining authority over the populace was a hallmark of the government's repressive actions in the South. One of the most notable instances occurred in 1991, when Barre's regime initiated a ruthless aerial assault that led to the deaths of numerous innocent individuals in the town of [[Beledweyne|Beledwene]], situated in southern Somalia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 November 1992 |title=Somalia: Information on the capture of the town of Belet Uen by the United Somali Congress (USC) at the end of 1990 or early 1991 and on persecution of Darod in Belet Uen by USC soldiers |url=https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20230604082615/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acb654.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240424094459/https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20230604082615/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acb654.html |website=webarchive.archive.unhcr.org |publisher=Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |access-date=11 April 2024 |archive-date=24 April 2024 }}</ref> The cruelty and magnitude of this atrocity highlighted the degree to which the government was prepared to go to quash any sort of opposition or resistance, displaying a blatant disregard for human rights and the worth of human life.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 January 1990 |title=Human Rights Watch World Report 1989 – Somalia |url=https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/hrw/1990/en/35330#:~:text=We%20urge%20the,from%20international%20largesse. |website=Refwolrd |publisher=Human Rights Watch |place=Somalia |publication-date=1 January 1990 |access-date=11 April 2024 |archive-date=24 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240424095942/https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/hrw/1990/en/35330#:~:text=We%20urge%20the,from%20international%20largesse. |url-status=live }}</ref>

Another notable instance of [[Siad Barre|Barre]]'s repressive policies occurred in the city of [[Baidoa]], which earned the nickname 'the city of death' due to the tragic events that unfolded there during the famine and [[Somali Civil War|civil war]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 Aug 2023 |title=One in four people in Somalia have now fled their homes |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/one-four-people-somalia-have-now-fled-their-homes#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20city%20of%20Baidoa%20earned,war%20in%20the%20early%201990s. |website=reliefweb |publisher=Islamic Relief |access-date=11 April 2024 |archive-date=11 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211093948/https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/one-four-people-somalia-have-now-fled-their-homes#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20city%20of%20Baidoa%20earned,war%20in%20the%20early%201990s. |url-status=live }}</ref> Hundreds of thousands of individuals lost their lives as a consequence of governmental strategies specifically aimed at the [[Rahanweyn]] community residing in these areas.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Yuusuf |first=Muuse |title=The Genesis of the Civil War in Somalia: The Impact of Foreign Military Intervention on the Conflict |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |year=2022 |isbn=9780755642410 |page=121}}</ref>

During 1990, in the capital city of Mogadishu, the residents were prohibited from gathering publicly in groups greater than three or four. Fuel shortages, inflation, and currency devaluation impacted the economy. A thriving black market existed in the centre of the city as banks experienced shortages of local currency for exchange. Harsh [[exchange control]] regulations were introduced to prevent export of foreign currency. Although no travel restrictions were placed on foreigners, photographing many locations was banned. During daytime in Mogadishu, the appearance of any government military force was extremely rare. Alleged late-night operations by government authorities, however, included "disappearances" of individuals from their homes.<ref>{{cite book |title=Focus on the Horn, Issues 7–9|year=1989|publisher=Horn of Africa Information Committee|page=37}}</ref>

In 1991, the Barre administration was ousted by a coalition of clan-based opposition groups, backed by Ethiopia's then-ruling [[Derg]] regime and [[Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya|Libya]].<ref>Columbia University, School of International Affairs, ''Journal of international affairs'', Vol. 40 (1986), p. 165.</ref> Following a meeting of the [[Somali National Movement]] and northern clans' elders, the northern former British portion of the country [[Somaliland Declaration of Independence|declared its independence]] as the [[Somaliland|Republic of Somaliland]] in May 1991. Although {{Lang|la|de facto}} independent and relatively stable compared to the tumultuous south, it has not been recognized by any foreign government.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1367554.stm |title=Somaliland citizens ask to be recognized as a state |work=[[BBC News]] |date=4 June 2001 |access-date=25 February 2009 |archive-date=1 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201232830/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1367554.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1361394.stm |title=Somaliland votes for independence |work=[[BBC News]] |date=31 May 2001 |access-date=25 February 2009 |archive-date=9 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209234117/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1361394.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Mogadishu.jpg|thumb|Prior to the civil war, Mogadishu was known as the "White pearl of the Indian Ocean".<ref>Al J. Venter (1975) ''Africa Today'', p. 152, {{ISBN|0-86954-023-8}}</ref>]]

Many of the opposition groups subsequently began competing for influence in the power vacuum that followed the ouster of Barre's regime. In the south, armed factions led by USC commanders General [[Mohamed Farah Aidid]] and [[Ali Mahdi Mohamed]], in particular, clashed as each sought to exert authority over the capital.<ref>Library Information and Research Service, ''The Middle East: Abstracts and index'', Vol. 2, (Library Information and Research Service: 1999), p. 327.</ref> In 1991, a multi-phased international conference on Somalia was held in neighbouring Djibouti.<ref name="Paul Fricska">{{cite web|last=Paul Fricska|first=Szilard|title=Harbinger of a New World Order? Humanitarian Intervention in Somalia|url=https://circle.ubc.ca/bitstream/handle/2429/5267/ubc_1994-0415.pdf?sequence=1|publisher=University of British Columbia|access-date=6 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316145832/https://circle.ubc.ca/bitstream/handle/2429/5267/ubc_1994-0415.pdf?sequence=1|archive-date=16 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Owing to the legitimacy bestowed on Muhammad by the Djibouti conference, he was subsequently recognized by the international community as the new President of Somalia.<ref name="Paul Fricska"/> He was not able to exert his authority beyond parts of the capital. Power was instead vied with other faction leaders in the southern half of Somalia and with autonomous sub-national entities in the north.<ref>{{cite news|title=Somalia: Some key actors in the transitional process|url=http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/0/cd80e675a2fba86a49256ff90029df0f?OpenDocument|date=6 May 2005|agency=[[The New Humanitarian|IRIN]]|access-date=7 February 2007|archive-date=27 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927193104/http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/0/cd80e675a2fba86a49256ff90029df0f?OpenDocument|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Djibouti conference was followed by two abortive agreements for national reconciliation and disarmament, which were signed by 15 political stakeholders: an agreement to hold an Informal Preparatory Meeting on National Reconciliation, and the 1993 Addis Ababa Agreement made at the Conference on National Reconciliation.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}

In the early 1990s, due to the protracted lack of a permanent central authority, Somalia began to be characterized as a "[[failed state]]."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/12/14/the-most-failed-state|title=The Most Failed State|magazine=The New Yorker|first=Jon Lee|last=Anderson|date=14 December 2009|access-date=19 May 2015|archive-date=27 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227203612/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/12/14/the-most-failed-state|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/somalia-a-failed-state-is-back-from-the-dead-8449310.html?printService=print|title=Somalia: A failed state is back from the dead|work=The Independent|first=James|last=Fergusson|date=13 January 2013|access-date=2 May 2015|archive-date=12 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112131834/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/somalia-a-failed-state-is-back-from-the-dead-8449310.html?printService=print|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/10/opinion/yes-there-is-a-reason-to-be-in-somalia.html |title=Yes, There Is a Reason to Be in Somalia |first=Madeleine K. |last=Albright |work=The New York Times |date=10 August 1993 |access-date=22 May 2015 |archive-date=23 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523121239/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/10/opinion/yes-there-is-a-reason-to-be-in-somalia.html |url-status=live }}</ref>