General Aideed became President of Somalia in June 1995,he was like the lion of Africa and he had most support of the Somali People-
General Mohamed Farah Hassan Aideed Garaad(Somali:Maxamed Faarax Xasan Caydiid Garaad,Arabic:محمد
فرح عيديد) (December 15, 1934 – August 2, 1996) was a
controversialSomali military
leader, often described as ahero of Somalia.[1]He became thePresident
of Somaliafrom 1995 to 1996. He
was the chairman ofUnited Somali Congress(USC) and laterSomali National Alliance(SNA), who droveMohamed
Siad Barre’s dictatorial regime from the capital,Mogadishuand eventually from Somalia altogether. Later he
challenged the presence ofUnited NationsandUnited Statestroops in the country. General Aideed was one of the main targets
ofOperation Restore Hope, the United Nations and United
States military operation that came to the country to provide humanitarian aid
and to break the militarysiege. He became General of Somalia for a short
period after forcing UN forces to abandon the country in 1995.
Biography
General Mohamed Farah Hassan Aideed
was born in theHabar Gidirclan of theMudugregion of Somalia.He was educated inRomeandMoscowand served in the Italian colonial police force
in the 1950s. Later he rose in the military of Mohamed Siad Barre to the rank
of general and served in the 1977-78Ogaden WarwithEthiopia.[1]Aidid also served in Barre's cabinet and as
SomaliambassadortoIndiabefore finally being
appointedintelligencechief.[2]
Somali Civil War
Barre
suspected Aideed of planning acoup d'étatand had him imprisoned for six years as means ofpre-emption. In
1991, Aideed's clan did indeed manage to overthrow Barre, and the former, as
leader of theUnited Somali Congress,
emerged as a major force in the ensuingcivil war.
General
Aideed hindered international U.N. peacekeeping forces in 1992 culminating with
an attack on Pakistani peace keeping forces which resulted in 24 dead. As a
result, the US put a $25,000bountyon his head and attempted to arrest and try him
forwar
crimes. On October 3, 1993, by the order of PresidentBill Clinton, a force ofUnited States Army RangersandDelta Forceoperators set out to capture several officials
of Aideed's troops in an area of the Somali 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.
Between 500 and 1500 Somalis, as well as 18 American soldiers and 1Malaysian
soldier, died as a result in theFirst Battle of Mogadishu. Also, as a result of a
downedBlackhawkattack helicopter,Warrant Officer-PilotMichael
J. Durantfrom160th SOARwas held captive for 11 days. He recalls in his
book,In the Company of Heroes,that he believed that he may have seen General
Aideed behind the cameraman as he was being filmed briefly by film reporters
during his captivity.
The
United States withdrew its forces soon afterwards and the United Nations left
Somalia in 1995.
President of Somalia
General Aideed
became President of Somalia in June 1995,he was like the lion of Africa and he
had most support of the Somali People.
Death
General Aideed
died on August 2, 1996 as a result of gunshot wounds sustained a week earlier,
possibly in a fight with competing factions.
Heir
Hussein Mohamed Farah,
son of General Aideed, migrated to the United States when he was 17 years old.
He stayed 16 years in the U.S. and became anaturalized
citizen, and later aUnited
States Marinewho served in Somalia.
Two days after his father's death, the Somali National Alliance selected him to
become the new president of the Republic of Somalia.
He
resigned his position inCairo,Egyptfollowing a peace process between the Salbalar
administration and Soodare Group. Hussein Mohammed Farah is seen by the West as
making possible a chance for improvement of relationships between the West and
Somalia. When asked about his Marine days, he replied: "Once a Marine,
always a Marine."[6]