Somalia Timeline of Events

Home / Timelines / Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic 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...

Timeline of Events

1960

7.1.1960

Independence of Somalia.

1969

10.21.1969

A coup d'état in Somalia brings Siad Barre to power.

1970

10.20.1970

Siad Barre declares Somalia a socialist state.

1977

10.13.1977

Four Palestinians hijack ''Lufthansa Flight 181'' to Somalia and demand release of 11 members of the Red Army Faction.

10.17.1977

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.

10.26.1977

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

1.26.1991

Mohamed Siad Barre is removed from power in Somalia, ending centralized government, and is succeeded by Ali Mahdi.

5.18.1991

Northern Somalia declares independence from the rest of Somalia as the Republic of Somaliland but is not recognised by the international community.

1992

12.3.1992

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.

12.4.1992

Somali Civil War: President George H. W. Bush orders 28,000 US troops to Somalia in Northeast Africa.

1997

12.22.1997

Hussein Aidid relinquishes the disputed title of President of Somalia by signing the Cairo Declaration, in Cairo, Egypt. It is the first major step towards reconciliation in Somalia since 1991.

2007

6.3.2007

USS Carter Hall engages pirates after they board the Danish ship ''Danica White'' off the coast of Somalia.