United Nations Operation in Somalia I

United Nations Operation in Somalia I
Abbreviation	UNOSOM I
Formation	April 1992
Type	Peacekeeping Mission
Legal status	Completed
Headquarters	Mogadishu, Somalia
Special Representative of the Secretary-general (SRSG) ; Chief Military Observer;	Mohamed Sahnoun April 1992 - November 1992 ; Ismat Kittani November 1992 - March 1993 ; Brig. Gen. Imtiaz Shaheen June 1992 - March 1993 ; Contents Background ; Creation ; Ineffectiveness ; Transition to UNITAF and UNOSOM II ; Statistics ; See also ; References ; Further reading ; External links ; Jonathan T. Howe March 1993
Parent organization	United Nations Security Council
Website	Official site in English

Last updated August 09, 2024

United Nations Operation in Somalia I (UNOSOM I) was the first part of a United Nations (UN) sponsored effort to provide, facilitate, and secure humanitarian relief in Somalia, as well as to monitor the first UN-brokered ceasefire of the Somali Civil War conflict in the early 1990s.

The operation was established in April 1992 and ran until its duties were assumed by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF) mission in December 1992. Following the dissolution of UNITAF in May 1993, the subsequent UN mission in Somalia was known as UNOSOM II.

Background

Somalia sits on the Horn of Africa at the Entrance of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Djibouti to the North, Ethiopia to the West and Kenya to the South provides its borders of approximately 8.5 million people, more than 98 percent are Somali giving it unusual ethnic homogeneity. More than 45 percent of the population are under 15 years of age. About 70 percent of Somalis are nomads who travel with their livestock herds through Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. A lack of definite borders contributes to the unresolved land disputes between Somalia and its neighbors.

Following the eruption and escalation of the civil war in Somalia in 1991, the UN and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) intervened, citing the war and starvation. Of the Somali population of 10 million people, over half were in severe danger of starvation and malnutrition-related disease, mostly in the drought-stricken rural areas.

Another 1.5 million were judged at moderate risk of malnutrition. Three hundred thousand people died outright in the early months of 1992 and another 3 million fled the country as refugees.^[1]

The UN was engaged in Somalia from early in 1991 when the civil strife began. UN personnel were withdrawn on several occasions during sporadic flare-ups of violence. A series of Security Council resolutions (733, 746) and diplomatic visits eventually helped impose a ceasefire between the two key factions, signed at the end of March 1992. These efforts were aided by other international bodies, such as the Organisation for African Unity, the League of Arab States and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.

Creation

The UN, with the active support of all rebel faction leaders, felt that some sort of peacekeeping force would be required to uphold the ceasefire and assist the humanitarian relief effort, in conjunction with other relief agencies and NGOs. By the end of April 1992, the Security Council adopted Resolution 751.

This provided for the establishment of a security force of 50 UN troops in Somalia to monitor the ceasefire. This detachment would be known as the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM) and it existed at the consent of those parties who had been represented in the ceasefire.

The resolution also allowed for an expansion of the security force, with a number of around 500 troops initially discussed. The first group of ceasefire observers arrived in Mogadishu in early July 1992.

Ineffectiveness

Despite the UN's efforts, all over Somalia the ceasefire was ignored, fighting continued, and continued to increase, putting the relief operations at great risk. The main parties to the ceasefire, General Mohamed Farrah Aidid and President Ali Mahdi Muhammad, once again showing the difficult and troubled relations between the warlords, proved to be difficult negotiating partners and continually frustrated attempts to move the peacekeepers and supplies.

In August 1992 the Security Council endorsed the sending of another 3,000 troops to the region to protect relief efforts. However, most of these troops were never sent.

Over the final quarter of 1992, the situation in Somalia continued to get worse. Factions in Somalia were splintering into smaller factions and splintering again. Agreements for food distribution with one party were worthless when the stores had to be shipped through the territory of another.

Some elements were actively opposing the UNOSOM intervention. Troops were shot at, aid ships attacked and prevented from docking, cargo aircraft were fired upon and aid agencies, public and private, were subject to threats, robbery and extortion. Meanwhile, hundreds, if not thousands of poverty stricken refugees were starving to death every day.

By November 1992, General Mohamed Farrah Aidid had grown confident enough to formally defy the Security Council and demand the withdrawal of peace keepers, as well as declaring hostile intent against any further UN deployments.^[2]

Transition to UNITAF and UNOSOM II

In November 1992, the United States of America offered to establish a multinational force under its own leadership to secure the humanitarian operation. This offer was accepted by the Security Council, and what became known as the Unified Task Force (UNITAF) was authorized to utilize "all necessary means" to ensure the protection of the relief efforts.

Accordingly, the Security Council suspended any further significant strengthening of UNOSOM as UN affairs in Somalia were subsumed by UNITAF (also known to Americans as Operation Restore Hope). With only a handful of the 3,000 plus troops envisaged for UNOSOM ever put in place, the Security Council left it to “the discretion of the Secretary General” as to what should be done with the abortive mission.^[3]

UNITAF was composed of forces from 24 different countries, with the vast bulk contributed by the United States. UNITAF soon secured the relief operations which were being coordinated and carried out by UNOSOM, which was also attempting to negotiate a political end to the conflict. Indeed, although UNOSOM had been replaced by UNITAF, it was technically still in operation and would remain ready to resume its function when UNITAF had met its goals of creating a secure environment for humanitarian relief.

The Secretary-General convened a meeting in early 1993 in which 14 important Somalia political and rebel factions agreed to hand over all of their weapons to UNITAF and UNOSOM, and over $130 million was pledged by donors at an aid conference that year to assist in reconstruction. However, Somalia continued the stumble, and in March the UN decided to transform the UNITAF mission into what came to be known as UNOSOM II. The mandate of UNOSOM II stipulated that the operation was to secure continued relief efforts and, more significantly, to restore peace and rebuild the Somali state and economy.

Statistics

In the few months of its operation, 54 military observers and 893 military personnel served with UNOSOM I, supported by international civilian and local staff. The mission suffered six fatalities. Contributing nations were: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Egypt, Fiji, Finland, Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Botswana and Zimbabwe.^[4]

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Operation Gothic Serpent was a military operation conducted in Mogadishu, Somalia, by an American force code-named Task Force Ranger during the Somali Civil War in 1993. The primary objective of the operation was to capture Mohamed Farrah Aidid, leader of the Somali National Alliance who was wanted by the UNOSOM II in response to his attacks against United Nations troops. The operation took place from August to October 1993 and was led by US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Operation in Somalia II</span> Second phase of UN Intervention in Somalia after civil war erupted in 1991

The United Nations Operation in Somalia II was the second phase of the United Nations intervention in Somalia and took place from March 1993 until March 1995, following the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991. UNOSOM II carried on from the transitory United States-controlled (UN-sanctioned) Unified Task Force (UNITAF), which had been preceded by UNOSOM I. Notably, UNOSOM II embarked on a nation-building mission, diverging from its predecessors. As delineated in UNSCR 814, the operation's objectives were to aid in relief provision and economic rehabilitation, foster political reconciliation, and re-establish political and civil administrations across Somalia.

Operation Provide Relief was a United States spearheaded humanitarian relief airlift that ran from August to December 1992 in response to the famine in Somalia. This effort was assisted by the United Nations Operation in Somalia I mission, in light of a severe food crisis initiated and exacerbated by ongoing factional fighting. However, there were significant obstructions to delivering relief aid due to the security situation. This prompted the UN to pass Resolution 794, which paved the way for the more robust, multinational Unified Task Force operation in December 1992.

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The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed Forces began engaging in combat against various armed rebel groups, including the Somali Salvation Democratic Front in the northeast, the Somali National Movement in the northwest, and the United Somali Congress in the south. The clan-based armed opposition groups overthrew the Barre government in 1991.

The Unified Task Force (UNITAF) was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational force which operated in Somalia from 5 December 1992 until 4 May 1993. A United States initiative, UNITAF was charged with carrying out United Nations Security Council Resolution 794 to create a protected environment for conducting humanitarian operations in the southern half of the country.

United Nations Security Council resolution 837, adopted unanimously on 6 June 1993, after reaffirming resolutions 733 (1992), 746 (1992), 751 (1992), 767 (1992), 775 (1992), 794 (1992) and 814 (1993), the Council condemned the attacks on the United Nations Operation in Somalia II in which 24 Pakistani troops were killed and 56 injured, including 1 Italian and 3 American soldiers.

The Somali National Alliance was a major politico-military faction formed on 16 June 1992 by four different rebel groups that had been in opposition to the regime of former Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre. The SNA was the first major inter-clan and inter-factional political alliance and was considered to be among the most powerful factions of the Somali Civil War. The alliance would most notably face off against the second phase of the United Nations Operation in Somalia in the latter half of 1993.

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The Mogadishu Line is the point at which foreign involvement in a conflict shifts from peacekeeping or diplomacy to combat operations. The term often comes about in reference to the reluctance of international actors to intervene militarily in another state for humanitarian reasons. This reluctance comes about from fears that meaningful political changes may not be achievable without military actions, but that the military actions would be at odds with the diplomatic or humanitarian purposes and may become a bloody debacle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 814</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 1993

United Nations Security Council resolution 814, adopted unanimously on 26 March 1993, after reaffirming resolutions 733 (1992), 746 (1992), 751 (1992), 767 (1992), 775 (1992) and 794 (1993) on the ongoing civil war in Somalia, the council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, authorised an extension of the United Nations Operation in Somalia II until 31 October 1993.

United Nations Security Council resolution 886, adopted unanimously on 18 November 1993, after reaffirming resolutions 733 (1992) and all of its subsequent resolutions on Somalia, the council discussed the situation in the country and renewed the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Somalia II until 31 May 1994.

United Nations Security Council resolution 897, adopted unanimously on 4 February 1994, after reaffirming resolutions 733 (1992) and 886 (1992) and all of its subsequent resolutions on Somalia, the Council discussed the role of the United Nations Operation in Somalia II in the peace process in the country.

United Nations Security Council resolution 954, adopted unanimously on 4 November 1994, after recalling Resolution 733 (1992) and all relevant resolutions on the situation in Somalia and a recent security council mission to the country, the Council noted the lack of progress in the peace process and decided, under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, to extend the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Somalia II for a final time, until 31 March 1995.

The June 5th 1993 attack on the Pakistani military was a major confrontation that occurred concurrently in different parts of the Somali capital of Mogadishu, between Somali citizens & militias against the Pakistani peacekeeping contingent of UNOSOM II.

The 1992 famine in Somalia resulted from a severe drought and devastation caused by warring factions in southern Somalia, primarily the Somali National Front, in the fertile inter-riverine breadbasket between the Jubba and Shebelle rivers. The resulting famine primarily affected residents living in the riverine area, predominantly in Bay Region, and those internally displaced by the civil war.

References

↑ United Nations, 2003, United Nations Operations in Somalia (UNSOM 1) Background (Full Text) Archived January 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
↑ United Nations, 1992, Letter dated 92/11/24 from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the Security Council.
↑ United Nations, Security Council resolution 794 (1992), 24/4/92, para. 3.
↑ United Nations Operation in Somalia I: facts and figures Archived September 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

External links

United Nations Department of Peacekeeping UNOSOM 1 page

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[1] United Nations, 2003, United Nations Operations in Somalia (UNSOM 1) Background (Full Text) Archived January 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine

[2] United Nations, 1992, Letter dated 92/11/24 from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the Security Council.

[3] United Nations, Security Council resolution 794 (1992), 24/4/92, para. 3.

[4] United Nations Operation in Somalia I: facts and figures Archived September 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

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