Mohamed Farrah Aidid

General Mohamed Farrah Aidid (Somali: Maxamed Faarax Caydiid) (December 15 1934 – August 1, 1996) was a charismatic and able Somali leader. He was the chairman of United Somali Congress (USC) and later Somali National Alliance (SNA) who drove Mohamed Siad Barre’s dictatorial regime from the capital, Mogadishu and eventually from Somalia altogether. Later he challenged the presence of United Nations and United States troops in the country. General Aidid was one of the main targets of Operation Restore Hope, the United Nations and United States military operation that came to the country to provide humanitarian aid and to break the military siege in in the beganing but caused havock and destraction in Somalia. He became president of Somalia for a short period after forcing UN forces to abandon the country in 1995.

Biography

General Aidid was born in the Mudug region of Somalia. He was educated in Rome and Moscow and served in the government of Mohamed Siad Barre in several capacities; in the end as intelligence chief. Barre suspected him of planning a coup d'état and had him imprisoned for six years. In 1991, the clan of General Aidid did indeed overthrow Barre, and General Aidid, as leader of the United Somali Congress, emerged as a major force in the ensuing civil war.

General Aidid hindered international U.N. peacekeeping forces in 1992. As a result, the US put a $25,000 bounty on his head and attempted to capture him. On October 3, 1993 a force of United States Army Rangers and Delta Force operators set out to capture several officials of Aidid's militia in an area of the Somalian capital city of Mogadishu, controlled by him. Although technically successful, with the capture of several "tier-one personalities," the operation did not completely go as planned, and between 500 and 1000 Somalis, as well as 19 American soldiers, died as a result. The people of Somalia were later angry at the Rangers and supported Aidid.

The United States withdrew its forces soon afterwards (a move viewed by some as a sign of weakening American strength on the international front), and the United Nations left Somalia in 1995. Aidid then declared himself president of Somalia, but his government was not internationally recognized.

General Aidid died on August 2, 1996 as a result of gunshot wounds sustained a week earlier in a fight with competing factions.

There have been persistent rumors (including articles in the LA Times and USA Today), that US Special Operations forces, or CIA SAD officers, were directly or indirectly involved with General Aidid's death.

Heir

Hussein Mohamed Farrah, son of General Aidid, migrated to the United States when he was 14 years old. He stayed 16 years in the nation and became a naturalized citizen, and later a United States Marine. Two days after his father's death, the Somali National Alliance selected him to become the new president of the Somali republic.He resigned his position in Cairo, Egypt following a peace process between Salbalar administraton and Soodare Group. Hussein Mohammed Farrah is seen by the West as a chance of improvement for the relationships between them and Somalia. When asked about his Marine days, he replied: "Once a Marine, always a Marine."[1]

References

• Binney, Michael. Joint Close Air Support in the Low Intensity Conflict (thesis). Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School. June 2003.
• Bowden, Mark. Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War. Berkeley, California: Atlantic Monthly Press. March 1999.
• "Somali faction leader Aidid dies". CNN. August 2, 1996.
• Lutz, David. Hannover Institute of Philosophical Research. The Ethics of American Military Policy in Africa (research paper). Front Royal, Virginia: Joint Services Conference on Professional Ethics. 2000.
• McKinley, James. How a U.S. Marine Became a Warlord in Somalia. New York: The New York Times. August 16, 1996.