Venture into Territorial Expansionism
The
modern Somalia came into being in 1960 by the merger of the northern
region (formerly ruled by Britain and called British Somaliland
Protectorate) and the southern region (formerly called Italian
Somaliland).
Dr. Abdulrashid Ali Shermarke an Italian-trained political
scientist, of the Darod clan from the south became the country's first
post-independence Prime Minister. The presidency went to Aden Abdulla
Osman; and a government in which all the clans were represented was
formed.
A major wish of the new government (and indeed of the succeeding ones)
was to extend the frontiers of Somalia to include the lands peopled by
Somali tribesmen in the neighbouring countries Kenya, Djibouti, and
Ethiopia and thus create a grand Somali nation. That Utopian wish was
vehemently resisted by the affected countries, and has remained a major
issue ever since. In 1963, Somalia broke off diplomatic relations with
Britain claiming that Britain had ceded Somali territory to Kenya.
In 1964, some Somali tribesmen in Kenya's North Eastern Province, with
covert support of the government of Somalia, organized themselves into
anti-government guerrillas, called "shiftas". Kenya mounted successful
military operations against them. The Somalis in Ethiopia acted
similarly, and Ethiopian authorities suppressed them militarily also.
Ethiopia and Kenya accused Somalia of fomenting expansionist romances,
and of aiding the guerrillas. Indeed, the same question later led to
the 1977/78 Ogaden war between Somalia and Ethiopia a war Somalia lost.
Ogaden, is the region in Ethiopia populated by people of the Somali
tribe.
National Movements and New States in Africa