• 1960: Independence on July 1, 1960. British and Italian parts of Somalia become independent and form the United Republic of Somalia; Aden Abdullah Osman Daar elected president.
• 1969: A coup occurred and Muhammad Siad Barre assumes power after President Shermarke is assassinated. • 1972: The Somali language first became a written language. • 1974-1975: Severe drought causes widespread starvation. • 1991: Thousands of Bantus fled Somalia for Kenya. • 1991-1992: Approximately 350,000 Somalis died from disease, starvation and the Civil War. • 1994: The US and the UN failed to help end the genocide that occurs in Rwanda in April 1994. |
• 1999: The US designated the Somali people as persecuted and eligible for resettlement in the US.
• 2003: The first of more than 12,000 Somali Bantus awaiting resettlement set out for the US, leaving at long last the refugee camps where most have lived for a decade. • 2011: 54,000 people fled to the Somali capital Mogadishu in search of food and water. An estimated 3.7 million people in Somalia (approximately 1/3 population) were on the edge of starvation. • Current: Somalia is still an unstable country. Somali pirates are currently overtaking ships and boats to kidnap people and collect ransom and thousands of refugees seek safety in refugee camps. |
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