- History of Mogadishu
Mogadishu (Somali: "Muqdisho", popularly "Xamar"; _ar. مقديشو "Unicode|Maqadīshū"; _it. Mogadiscio), is the largest city in
Somalia , and itscapital .Mogadishu was historically founded on trade, and has recently seen armed warfare since the collapse of the Somali government in 1991.Medieval city-state
Trade connected Somalis in the Mogadishu area to other communities along the Indian coast as early as the first century AD according to the
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea . With Muslims traders from theArabian Peninsula arriving circa AD900 , Mogadishu was well suited to become a regional centre forcommerce . While the majority of the Somali coast is arid, the area around Mogadishu is more suitable to agriculture and could support a larger population. It is also the northernmost site in East Africa with a good natural harbour.The northernmost of the East African
city-state s, Mogadishu prospered with trade with the interior, which spread Islam throughout Somalia. Beginning about 1000, trade increased among the Swahili cities of coastal East Africa. This trade drove the Mogadishu economy by the early 1100s. The origin of the name "Mogadishu" is unclear; one version claims it as the Somali version of theArabic language and/or Persian name "maqad shah" (imperial seat of the shah). The historic Mosque ofFakr ad-Din , built 1269, still stands. Archaeological excavations have recovered many coins fromChina ,Sri Lanka , andVietnam . The majority of the Chinese coins date to theSong Dynasty , although theMing Dynasty andQing Dynasty "are also represented," [cite book
last =Pankhurst
first =Richard
title =An Introduction to the Economic History of Ethiopia
publisher =Lalibela House
year =1961
location =London
id = ASIN B000J1GFHC , p. 268] according toRichard K.P. Pankhurst . The tradingZanj city-states of the Swahili civilization imported Arabic pottery, Chinese porcelain, and Indian cloth. They exported wood, ivory, shells, slaves, and iron. Kilwa, which dominated the gold trade from theGreat Zimbabwe , ultimately eclipsed Mogadishu,Lamu ,Zanzibar , and other northern cities after the 1200s.Trading across the Arabian Sea enabled major ports like Mogadishu to prosper during the later Middle Ages. Ross E. Dunn describes Mogadishu and other East African Muslim settlements as "a kind of medieval America, a fertile, well-watered land of economic opportunity and a place of salvation from drought, famine, overpopulation, and war at home." [cite book
last =Dunn
first =Ross E.
title =The Adventures of Ibn Battuta
publisher =University of California
year =1987
location =Berkeley
pages =373
id = ISBN 0-520-05771-6 , p. 125]The abundance of food in Mogadishu around 1330 impressed visitor
Ibn Battuta . He remarked that a single person "eats as much as a whole company of us would eat, as a matter of habit, and they are corpulent and fat in the extreme." [Dunn, p. 124]Colonial Era
According to Duarte Barbosa the Portuguese visited the city but never succeeded in taking it. The sultan of
Zanzibar occupied the city in 1871. Garesa Palace, [A photo of the Palace can be found at [http://www.swan.ac.uk/cds/rd/images/Scan56.jpgGaresa Palace] ] built in the late 1800s for the local administrator of the sultan, now houses a museum and library. When Mogadishu was visited by French traveller Charles Guillain in 1846-1848, Mogadishu was dependent on both the Sultanate of Zanzibar and the Somali Geledi Clan."In 1892, the sultan of
Zanzibar leased the city toItaly . Italy purchased the city in 1905 and made "Mogadiscio" (Italian for Mogadishu) the capital ofItalian Somaliland . The surrounding territory came under Italian control in 1936 after heavy resistance.British forces operating from
Kenya duringWorld War II captured and occupied Mogadishu. The capital of Italian Somaliland fell to the British forces onFebruary 26 ,1941 . The British continued to rule until Italy returned in 1952 to administer their former Somali protectorate. Education advanced with the1954 establishment ofSomalia National University . Somalia achieved independence in1960 with Mogadishu as its capital.Collapse of government and UN intervention
Rebel forces entered and took the city in 1990, forcing
President Mohammed Siad Barre to resign and flee in January 1991 toLagos ,Nigeria . One faction proclaimedMohammed Ali Mahdi president, anotherMohammed Farah Aidid . TheSomalia National University , which enrolled 4600 students before thewar , closed as theeducational system soon collapsed.Intense battling between these rivals and other clan-based rebel factions damaged many parts of Mogadishu in
1991 -1992 and led to tens of thousands of casualties as an intense drought-induced famine ravaged rural Somalia.A contingent of
United States Marines landed near Mogadishu onDecember 9 ,1992 to spearheadUnited Nations peacekeeping forces. The United Nations sought to capturewarlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid in 1993 to enable the establishment of a transitional government. Somalis loyal to him ambushed the peacekeepers and killed 24Pakistanis .On
October 3 ,1993 , theUnited States Army Rangers and the Army'sDelta Force went on a mission to capture two of Aidid's warlords, which lead to the Battle of Mogadishu. Although the mission was successful, five American armyUH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were shot down during the battle (two in the city [Durant's "Super 64" and Wolcot's "Super 61"] and 3 at a safe area), causing about 100United States Army Rangers and Delta Force operators to be pinned down in the city, trying to rescue survivors and recover the dead. In this Battle of Mogadishu, the Somalis killed 18, one soldier three days later in a mortar strike and 1 Malaysian soldier and injured several dozen. Estimates put the number of Somali casualties at 500-1000 militia and civilians dead and 3000-4000 injured. The later nonfiction books ,In The Company Of Heroes , and motion picture "Black Hawk Down" dramatized the events of this battle.With these casualties, United States President
Bill Clinton withdrew American forces in 1994. Two factions in Mogadishu nevertheless reached a peace accord onJanuary 16 ,1994 . Heavy fighting, however, intensified between numerous warlords and factions for control over the city after theMarch 3 ,1995 withdrawal of the last international peacekeepers.Mohamed Farrah Aidid declared himself president in June 1995 and by 1996 captured strategic neighborhoods in Mogadishu and some outlying territory. Rival militias renewed fighting in Mogadishu and Hoddur in 1996. Aidid ultimately died in July 1996 from gunshot wounds suffered in a street battle.Mogadishu today
Excessive Isbaros and violence continued to rule Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia through the late 1990s and early 2000s, including the deaths of British Aid workers
Dick and Enid Eyeington in 2003. Now clans have established territory for themselves and claim independence from the Republic of Somalia. All attempts to restore state order, by forming transitional governments while in exile, have failed.Second Battle of Mogadishu
On
7 May 2006 , fighting broke out between Islamist militias and an alliance of Somali warlords over control of Mogadishu. The opposing forces were theAlliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT), and militia loyal to theIslamic Court Union (ICU). The conflict began in mid-February, 2006, when Somaliwarlord s formed the ARPCT to challenge the emerging influence of the ICU. It has been alleged that the United States has provided funding for the ARPCT due to concerns that the ICU has ties toal-Qaeda . [cite news
title =US cash support for Somali warlords 'destabilising nation'
publisher =New Zealand Herald ,Reuters ,The Independent
date =June 7 2006
url =http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10385312
accessdate = 2007-01-08 ] Most of the combat was concentrated in the Sii-Sii (often written "CC" in English) district in northern Mogadishu with both the Islamist militias and the secular warlords fighting for control of Mogadishu. On5 June 2006 , the ICU militia seized Mogadishu.Fall of Mogadishu
While the ICU consolidated control over Mogadishu, a UN-supported Transitional Government remained undefeated in Baidoa, despite a series of military setbacks. An attempt by the ICU to capture Baidoa prompted a military intervention by Ethiopia in support of the Transitional Government starting
December 21 ,2006 . OnDecember 25 Ethiopian jets bombed Mogadishu's main airport held by the ICU since June. Witnesses reportedMiG fighter jets fired missiles into the airport twice. One person was killed and a number injured. Further north,Beledweyne was also bombed, according to witnesses. [http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/12/25/somalia.jets.reut/index.html Ethiopia jets bomb Somalia airport] CNN] The fighting between the Ethiopian-backed TFG and the ICU became stretched to over 400km (250 miles) of land. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6208549.stm Ethiopia attacks Somalia airport] BBC]Following a rapid advance, Ethiopian and pro-government militias surrounded Mogadishu. A spokesman stated that the troops would besiege the city but not attack it in order to avoid civilian casualties. [http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-12-27T132048Z_01_L27499709_RTRUKOC_0_US-SOMALIA-CONFLICT-CAPITAL.xml&WTmodLoc=Home-C2-TopNews-newsOne-2 Pro-govt troops to besiege Mogadishu: Somali envoy] Reuters] On December 27, reports stated that the ICU was abandoning the city. [http://somalinet.com/news/world/Somalia/6219 Somalia: Islamists disappearing in the capital] SomaliNet] On
December 28 ,2006 , pro-government militias claimed to have taken control of key locations, including the former presidential palace. [http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-12-28T105403Z_01_L28593467_RTRUKOC_0_US-SOMALIA-CONFLICT-1.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsHome-C1-topNews-2 Somali govt close to taking Mogadishu] Reuters]Battle of Mogadishu (2007)
In January 2007, an Islamic insurgency erupted in Mogadishu, targeting government and Ethiopian forces. A helicopter was shot down as battles engulf in the city on
March 30 ,2007 . TwoEthiopia n helicopters fired on a rebel stronghold before one was hit by a missile. In addition, Ethiopia told its forces had killed 200 insurgents in a two-day joint offensive with Somali troops against theIslamic Courts Union . [http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2007-03-30T175416Z_01_L30116300_RTRUKOC_0_UK-SOMALIA-CONFLICT.xml&WTmodLoc=HP-C3-World-4 Helicopter shot down as battles engulf Mogadishu] Reuters]References
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