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Bakhara marketplace Essay Siad Barre’s rule was oppressive and divisive. Once an intelligence officer of the Italian fascists, he pitted clans against each other as a diversion from his decreasing popularity. Due to the strategic location of Somalia at the entrance to the Red Sea, it became of interest to both the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. By 1966 Soviet Union became a supporter of Somalia and this would go on for 10 years. It supplied the country millions worth of arms and military equipment. But a territorial conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia in 1977 over the annexation of the Ogaden region of Ethiopia which is believed to be part of Greater Somalia saw a shift of support by the Soviet Union to Ethiopia which strained the relationship of the two countries. Siad Barre renounced their Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, expelled all Soviet advisers, and ejected all Soviet personnel from Somalia. Barre then switched alliance with the United States. It supplied him with a total of $154 million worth of weapons and military equipment from 1981-1991. In this decade, Somalia descended into chaos with the continued warring clans. An insurgent group formed by the Hawieyah clan, the United Somali Congress, ousted Siad Barre from power in January 1991. Internal disputes led to a power vacuum and Somalia plunged into civil war. Two different faction leaders within the United Somali Congress announced their claims to power: Ali Mahdi Mohammed and Mohammed Farah Aidid. â€Å"It was this war, coupled with bad harvests, which led to the horrifying scenes of starvation that were televised around the world in 1992. By the end of 1992 about 350,000 Somalis had died. Another 1. 5 million, close to one-fourth of the remaining population, were thought to be in danger of starvation without massive food aid. â€Å" Somalia’s plight attracted international food aid. The United Nations launched Operation Provide Relief (UNOSOM – I) in August 1992 for Somalia. But the mission failed in their objective because food and supplies were often stolen and utilized as leverage for securing loyalty from clan leaders while almost three hundred thousand Somalis died of starvation. In December 1992, responding to the United Nations’ call for assistance, President George Bush obtained an approval from the U. N. that the United States combat troops lead an intervention force to Somalia. This was the famous Operation Restore Hope whose initial objective was to secure trade routes in Somalia so food could get to the people. The deployed troops would be sent home in time for then President Bill Clinton’s inauguration. Shortly upon his assumption of office, President Clinton intended to trim down U. S. troops in Somalia to be substituted by the United Nations peacekeeping troops. UNOSOM II was launched in March 1993 to restore order, improve infrastructure, and to help set up a representative government as part of its â€Å"nation building† mission in Somalia. During the inspection of Somali weapons storage site on June 5, 1993, 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed and it was believed that Aidid was responsible. The hunt for Aidid followed. Several military operations were done from June 12 to 16 in relation to Aidid’s capture including bombing a house in the capital, Mogadishu, where clan leaders were gathering. Four Western journalists investigated the scene but were beaten to their deaths by Somalis. By August 1993, four U. S. military police were killed and six soldiers were wounded. Then Task Force Ranger consisted of 440 elite troops from Delta Force led by General William Garrison flew into Mogadishu with the mission to capture Aidid. On that fateful October 3, 1993 the group raided the Olympia Hotel in Mogadishu. What followed was a seventeen-hour urban battle where eighteen U. S. soldiers were killed and eighty-four were wounded. Unfortunately, the Olympia Hotel was located east of the crowded Bakhara marketplace. Hundreds of Somalis were part of the casualties. However, the mission led to the capture of three important Aidid senior officers and about twenty Aidid supporters hiding within. News stories flashed and printed by the international media showed â€Å"chilling pictures of dead and captured Americans†, â€Å"television footage on CNN showed a frightened, wounded Blackhawk helicopter pilot†¦under interrogation by his Somali captors†, â€Å"Somalis watching as the body of an unidentified American was dragged through the streets at the end of a rope. † Bakhara marketplace. (2017, May 13).