under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa
. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War
in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory. The internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government
controls only a small part of the country. Somalia has been characterized as a failed state
and is one of the poorest and most violent states in the world.
Somalia lies in the eastern-most part of Africa.
1960 Independence of Somalia.
1969 A coup d'état in Somalia brings Siad Barre to power.
1970 Siad Barre declares Somalia a socialist state.
1977 Four Palestinians hijack ''Lufthansa Flight 181'' to Somalia and demand release of 11 members of the Red Army Faction.
1977 German Autumn: Four days after it is hijacked, Lufthansa Flight 181 lands in Mogadishu, Somalia, where a team of German GSG 9 commandos later rescues all remaining hostages on board.
1977 The last natural case of smallpox is discovered in Merca district, Somalia. The WHO and the CDC consider this date the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination.
1991 Mohamed Siad Barre is removed from power in Somalia, ending centralized government, and is succeeded by Ali Mahdi.
1991 Northern Somalia declares independence from the rest of Somalia as the Republic of Somaliland but is not recognised by the international community.
1992 UN Security Council Resolution 794 is unanimously passed, approving a coalition of United Nations peacekeepers led by the United States to form UNITAF, with the task of establishing peace and ensuring that humanitarian aid is distributed in Somalia.
1992 Somali Civil War: President George H. W. Bush orders 28,000 US troops to Somalia in Northeast Africa.