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