American troops withdraw from Somalia

The civil war in Somalia during 1980-1990 resulted in an enormous humanitarian crisis with more than 300 000 people killed and 1.5 million people displaced. This civil war directly resulted in a widespread famine in Somalia. A major problem was that the humanitarian food aid sent to Somalia was hijacked by warring clans and then traded with neighbouring countries for weapons at the cost of civilian lives.  The seriousness of the situation prompted the United Nations to order a peacekeeping force to stabilise the region. The United States contributed greatly to this force.  However this military intervention was not successful even though at its peak the foreign peacekeeping forces were able to rout the warlords and their supporters from Mogadishu and seal the border with Kenya . The intervention unfortunately worsened the situation as the show of military might polarised the Somali population against the UN peacekeepers.  After a number of disastrous military operations, most of the international peacekeepers were withdrawn. The American contingent, particularly in light of the casualties that they had suffered, withdrew their troops on the 25 March 1994.  The instability in Somalia continues to this day.