Somalia

OVERVIEW

Warlords formed militias along clan lines in the late 1980s in opposition to President Siad Barre. The Somali army disintegrated, and most soldiers joined their respective clan militias. By 1991, Barre was ousted from Mogadishu and a struggle for power ensued among the warlords and clans. The fighting and an inability to deal with famine and disease led to the deaths of up to 1 million people.

Between 1991 and around 2013, Somalia in effect was without a...