The 1992 famine in Somalia was a

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...

in southern

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

directly connected with the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War ( so, Dagaalkii Sokeeye ee Soomaaliya; ar, الحرب الأهلية الصومالية ) is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the Military dictatorship, military junta wh ...

. An estimated 220,000 - 300,000 people died during the famine. After

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

efforts to end the famine failed, the United States sent in troops to provide security for relief groups, and the famine largely subsided by March 1993. The crisis was caused by a severe drought and fighting over the fertile inter-riverine areas around the

Jubba Thawb ( ar, ثَوْب "garment"), also spelled thobe or tobe and known by various other names in different regions, is an ankle-length robe, usually with long sleeves. It is commonly worn in the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, North Afr ...

and

Shebelle The Shebelle River ( so, Webi Shabeelle, ar, نهر شبيلي, am, እደላ) begins in the highlands of Ethiopia, and then flows southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu. Near Mogadishu, it turns sharply southwest, where it follows the coast. ...

rivers.

Causes and contributing factors

After President Siad Barre had been ejected from Mogadishu by Aidids forces in January 1991, Barres troops withdrew to the south of the city into Somalia's fertile breadbasket. Lacking supplies of their own, Barres forces ravaged the grain stores of inter-riverine agricultural belt around the Jubba and Shebelle rivers. This dire food supply situation was further exacerbated by fighting between Barre and rebels, the most powerful of which were led by General

Mohamed Farah Aidid Mohamed Farrah Hassan Aidid ( so, Maxamed Faarax Xasan Caydiid; ar, محمد فرح حسن عيديد; 15 December 1934 – 1 August 1996) was a Somali general and diplomat. Educated in both Rome and Moscow, he served as a chief in the Italian ...

, who were attempting push Barre out of Somalia entirely and into neighboring

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. Pillaging by Barres forces and fighting between rebels and his forces would lead to the decimation of Somali agriculture. A lack of international intervention in the

contributed to the emergence of famine in the region.

Famine

At the famines height, approximately 30,000 people were dying a month.

After the famine

According to an estimate made in November 1994 by the Washington-based Refugee Policy Group NGO, approximately 100,000 lives were saved as a result of international assistance. They further estimated that 10,000 of those had been saved following the deployment of U.S. troops in December 1992.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * {{Somalia-hist-stub Somali Civil War 1992 in Somalia 20th century in Mogadishu 1992 in Africa