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.

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.

Further information:Somalian Revolution (1986-1992)

Opposition to UN intervention

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.

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]