The battle of Mogadishu was no exception.
Somalia has struggled in many areas over the last quarter of a century. Internal fighting has left an absence of jobs and a loss of agriculture, resulting in the starvation of thousands of Somali people and "a civil war that cost the lives of more then 300,000 people (The Battle of Mogadishu). In January of 1991, the Somali government was overthrown by the Untied Somalia Congress, which after seizing power spilt into two opposing clans. The two clans fought persistently to gain complete control of Somalia, using starvation and mass murder to influence their followers. The United States first began occupying Somalia in December of 1992, with the intention to of only staying a short time, with the possibly of withdraw in the first few months of the new year giving "time enough to have put Somalia on the road to recovery from famine and civil war"(PBS). Since the United States originally only intended to provide peacekeeping operations in Somalia, they did little at first but provide food to the starving people, deliver much needed medical supplies, secure food routes and aid in medical treatment services. The United States Marines were the first to be sent to Somalia, in December of 1992 under the code name Operation Restore Hope, re-establishing order to the dying country and providing relief to many of the people left with little food and a destroyed government. Urged by President Clinton to make the peacekeeping resolution international, a majority of the Marines were withdrawn from Somalia, leaving only 1200 soldiers behind, with hope to be soon replaced by United Nations peacekeeping forces. Quickly after the withdraw, it became evident that more persuasive tactics were needed, as factions became increasingly stronger and more violent. "After the conflict quieted down and U.S. Marines departed, local warlords battling for control of Somalia soon raided UN food distribution sites and killed UN personnel.
