Somalia: From Purgatory to Hell

In January 1991, Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, was consumed by the bloodiest battles of a three-year civil war as government troops tried to fight off a rebel attack. By the end, the rebels had won, and most of Mogadishu lay in ruins, with about fifty thousand people reported to have died. President Mohammed Siad Barre fled Mogadishu disguised in women’s clothing. Thus, after twenty one years, ended one of Africa’s longest uninterrupted military dictatorships.

For a mo...