United Nations Operation in Somalia II | |||||
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Part of the Somali Civil War | |||||
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Belligerents | |||||
United Somali Congress | |||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||
Boutros Boutros Ghali Thomas M. Montgomery William F. Garrison |
Mohamed Farrah Aidid | ||||
Strength | |||||
28,000 personnel, including 22,000 troops and 8,000 logistic and civilian staff | Unknown | ||||
Casualties and losses | |||||
12 killed 24 killed 22 killed |
Unknown |
United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) was the second phase of the United Nations intervention in Somalia, from March 1993 until March 1995.
UNOSOM II carried on from the United States-controlled (UN-sanctioned) Unified Task Force (UNITAF), which had in turn taken over from the ineffectual United Nations Operation in Somalia I (UNOSOM I) mission. All three of these interventions were aimed at creating a secure enough environment for humanitarian operations to be carried out in the increasingly lawless and famine-stricken country.
The UNOSOM II intervention is well known for the Battle of Mogadishu and the resulting events portrayed in the book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, and its associated film Black Hawk Down.
Following the failure of the monitoring mission created as UNOSOM by the United Nations, the United States offered to lead a substantial intervention force, chiefly made up of American personnel. This was accepted by the UN and made possible through United Nations Security Council Resolution 794, authorising the use of "all necessary means to establish as soon as possible a secure environment for humanitarian relief operations in Somalia". The Security Council then urged the Secretary-General and member states to make arrangements for "the unified command and control" of the military forces that would be involved. On the evening of 4 December 1992, U.S. President George H. W. Bush made an address to the nation, informing them that U.S. troops would be sent to Somalia. The U.S. contribution would be known as Operation Restore Hope, which joined a multinational force and became known as the United Task Force (UNITAF). The operations of UNOSOM I were suspended. UNITAF was authorized under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.