Ousting of Siad Barre

Date: January 26, 1991 • Location: Rome, Italy

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1991.

Somali Rebellion: Factions led by the warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid and his rebel group, the United Somali Congress, ousted President Siad Barre.

The beginnings of civil war in Somalia can be traced to April 1978, when several army officers attempted a coup after the Ogaden War and then founded the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF). The SSDF and newly formed Somali National Movement (SNM) began mounting guerrilla operations into Somalia from bases in Ethiopia. Somali Civil War grew slowly, in a series of actions against President Siad Barre's government between 1978 and 1991, ultimately bringing down the Somali Democratic Republic.