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When you land at the clean, tidy airport in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, you feel you could have arrived in any small African state. The police are courteous and wear freshly-pressed uniforms, the Somaliland flag flutters gently in the hot morning breeze, and you move briskly through the airport security. The taxi you take [...]
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In 1992, the US military arrived in Somalia. Operation Restore Hope involved protecting food packages from warlords. The following year, Somali rebels shot down two US helicopters, leading to a battle in which hundreds of Somali citizens were killed.
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The feudal struggles and civil discord that followed the failure of Barre’s administration led to a serious humanitarian crisis in Somalia, prompting action from the international community. Here, a mother mourns the death of her son
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In 1991, Barre was forced out of office. The collapse of government led to ongoing feudal struggles and civil war, resulting in the arrival of a UN peacekeeping mission, which operated in Somalia between 1992 and 1995
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In 1974, Somalia joined the Arab League. In 1977-78, Somali forces invaded the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, an area inhabited by Somalis that had been the subject of border hostilities in the 1960s. The Somali [...]
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On 15 October 1969, President Shermarke was assassinated by a member of his own police force. Mohamed Siad Barre, pictured, seized power in the subsequent coup, and in 1970 declared Somalia a socialist state, strengthening ties with the Soviet [...]
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Somalian prime minister Abdurashid Ali Shermarke, shown on the right, with the Somalian president Aden Abdullah Osman Daar (L). In 1967, the president was defeated in elections by his former prime minister, Abdirashid Ali Shermarke
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Since this picture was taken, Somalia has experienced almost continual conflict and insecurity. Here, we chart a brief history of the country. The story begins in 1950, when Italian Somaliland (southern Somalia) became a UN trust territory under Italian administration. Renamed Somalia six years later, the country was granted internal autonomy and subsequently held its [...]
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