Mogadishu

The United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM I) was set up to safely make humanitarian aid possible to people trapped by civil war and famine. This was the first time that the peacekeeping force has been used for “humanitarian intervention”. This mission was set to provide protection, security for the people of Mogadishu and its surroundings. In November 1991, there was heavy fighting in the Somali capital of Mogadishu between armed forces allied to General Mohamad Farah Aidid, or to Mr. Ali Mohamed Mahdi, the chosen “temporary President”. On top of Mogadishu, there was also conflict in Kismayo, and in the northwest, local leaders were pushing to create an independent “Somaliland”. The whole country was without any form of central government.
On March 27th and 28th there were agreements signed between the rival parties in Mogadishu resulting in the deployment of the United Nations to monitor the cease-fire of March 3 1992. This agreement also included the deployment of UN security personnel to protect UN personnel and humanitarian assistance activities. On October 28, General Mohamad Farah Aidid declared that the Pakistani UNOSOM battalion would no longer be tolerated in Mogadishu. He also ordered the expulsion within 48 hours of the UNOSOM coordinator for Humanitarian Assistance. General Mohamad Fahrah Aidid’s forces shelled and shot at UNOSOM forces controlling the airport where food was being delivered, and shelled ships carrying food as they attempted to enter the Mogadishu port, his rival wanted UNOSOM to take full control of the port. On November 13, after coming under machine-gun, rifle and mortar fire, the Pakistani troops controlling the airport returned fire. Things were getting out of control. UNITAF (Unified Task Force) then joined the mission and covered approximately 40% of the countries territory but despite the improvement, a secure environment had not yet been established and incidents of violence continued. UNOSOM II then took over from