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Article: Somalia, Relations With
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
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SOMALIA, RELATIONS WITH
SOMALIA, RELATIONS WITH.
Somalia, in northeastern Africa, attracted American attention for the first time in the 1970s when the military dictatorship of Mohammed Siad Barre solicited military aid from the Soviet Union. In 1980 he switched sides and allied with the United States, which also poured in military aid. As the Cold War ended, Somalia lost its attraction as an ally. Barre's ouster in 1991 allowed clan rivalries, which his dictatorial rule had held in check, to erupt into civil war. The war and severe drought destroyed Somalia's economy.
In response to televised scenes of starving children, the United Nations in December 1992 introduced troops from ...