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The 2010 Portland car bomb plot involved an incident in which Mohamed Osman Mohamud (born 1991), a Somali-American student, was arrested in an FBI sting operation on November 26, 2010, after attempting to set off what he thought was a car bomb at a Christmas tree lighting in Portland, Oregon . He was charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction . An attorney for Mohamud argued that his client was entrapped . On January 31, 2013, a jury found Mohamud guilty of the single charge against him. He was scheduled to be sentenced on December 18, 2013, however the sentencing was cancelled in anticipation of the filing of new motions by the defense. In September 2014, Mohamud was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison with credit for time served, as well as lifetime supervision upon release in 2040.

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91-629: Mohamud was born in Somalia , came to America as a refugee , and grew up in Beaverton, Oregon , a suburb of the Portland metropolitan area . He is a naturalized U.S. citizen. Mohamud graduated from Westview High School in Beaverton. He attended Oregon State University , but dropped out on October 6, 2010, without having declared a major. At the time of the incident, he was a resident of Corvallis, Oregon . Under

182-406: A popular referendum , was ratified popularly by the people of Somalia under Italian trusteeship, Most of the people from the former Somaliland Protectorate did not participate in the referendum, although only a small number of Somalilanders who participated the referendum voted against the new constitution , which was first drafted in 1960. In 1967, Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal became Prime Minister,

273-569: A British protectorate was declared over part of Somalia, on the African coast opposite South Yemen. Initially, this region was under the control of the Indian Office, and so administered as part of the Indian Empire; in 1898 it was transferred to control by London. In 1889, the protectorate and later colony of Italian Somalia was officially established by Italy through various treaties signed with

364-583: A Somali who had campaigned for a 'yes' vote in the referendum of 1976, eventually became Djibouti's first president (1977–1999). On 1 July 1960, five days after the former British Somaliland protectorate obtained independence as the State of Somaliland, the territory united with the Trust Territory of Somaliland to form the Somali Republic , albeit within boundaries drawn up by Italy and Britain. A government

455-467: A federal hate crimes indictment in what they stated was a racially motivated arson at the mosque. A federal judge ordered that Crawford be detained as a danger to the community due to his prior arrest history. Crawford's court-appointed attorneys stated that he suffers from alcohol and mental illness issues. Crawford was convicted of a federal charge of damaging religious property and sentenced to 5 years probation. Somalia Somalia , officially

546-468: A lucrative foreign commerce with ships sailing to and from Arabia, India, Venetia , Persia, Egypt, Portugal, and as far away as China. Vasco da Gama , who passed by Mogadishu in the 15th century, noted that it was a large city with houses several storeys high and large palaces in its centre, in addition to many mosques with cylindrical minarets. The Harla , an early Hamitic group of tall stature who inhabited parts of Somalia, Tchertcher and other areas in

637-550: A number of chiefs and sultans; Sultan Yusuf Ali Kenadid first sent a request to Italy in late December 1888 to make his Sultanate of Hobyo an Italian protectorate before later signing a treaty in 1889. The Dervish movement successfully repulsed the British Empire four times and forced it to retreat to the coastal region. The Darawiish defeated the Italian, British, Abyssinian colonial powers on numerous occasions, most notably,

728-479: A position to which he was appointed by Shermarke. Egal would later become the President of the autonomous Somaliland region in northwestern Somalia. On the 15th of October, while president Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke was touring drought-stricken Las Anood, his personal bodyguard shot and killed him. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger concluded that the bodyguard was acting of his own accord. Six days later, on

819-591: A protectorate of Britain until 1960. To the extent that Italy held the territory by UN mandate, the trusteeship provisions gave the Somalis the opportunity to gain experience in Western political education and self-government. These were advantages that British Somaliland, which was to be incorporated into the new Somali state, did not have. Although in the 1950s British colonial officials attempted, through various administrative development efforts, to make up for past neglect,

910-457: A terrorist, had been in contact with him since June 2010. The FBI put him on a no-fly list , preventing him from traveling to Kodiak, Alaska from Portland International Airport on June 10, 2010. Prosecutors said he was instead interviewed by the FBI, whom he told he wanted to earn money fishing and then travel to join "the brothers," and that he had earlier hoped to travel to Yemen but had not obtained

1001-487: A ticket or visa. In preparation for the planned bombing of a public gathering, Mohamud and undercover FBI operatives drove to a remote area of Lincoln County, Oregon , where they conducted a test run on November 4 by detonating a real bomb Mohamud believed to have been hidden inside a backpack. The attempted main bombing took place at Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square at the corner of Southwest Yamhill Street and Sixth Avenue, as tens of thousands of people gathered for

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1092-505: A victim of entrapment. Noting that key evidence from an alleged July 30 meeting may already be missing, a court ordered the FBI to preserve remaining media and recording equipment. Noting past behavior by the FBI in similar cases, New York lawyer Martin Stolar asserted the absence of such recordings was intentional. "Once somebody's been induced, and they agree to do the crime, that's when the recording starts.... He's already been induced to commit

1183-755: Is a member of the United Nations , the Arab League , African Union , Non-Aligned Movement , East African Community , and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation . Somalia was likely one of the first lands to be settled by early humans due to its location. Hunter-gatherers who would later migrate out of Africa likely settled here before their migrations. During the Stone Age, the Doian and Hargeisan cultures flourished here. The oldest evidence of burial customs in

1274-600: Is believed to have been domesticated in the Horn region sometime between the 2nd and 3rd millennium BCE. From there, it spread to Egypt and the Maghreb . During the classical period, the Barbara city-states of Mosylon , Opone , Mundus , Isis , Malao , Avalites , Essina , Nikon and Sarapion developed a lucrative trade network, connecting with merchants from Ptolemaic Egypt , Ancient Greece , Phoenicia , Parthian Persia , Saba ,

1365-860: The Adal Sultanate was governed by local Somali dynasties and its realm encompassed the geographical area between the Bab el Mandeb and Cape Guardafui. It was thus flanked to the south by the Ajuran Empire and to the west by the Abyssinian Empire . Throughout the Middle Ages, Arab immigrants arrived in Somaliland, a historical experience which would later lead to the legendary stories about Muslim sheikhs such as Daarood and Ishaaq bin Ahmed (the purported ancestors of

1456-635: The Darod and Isaaq clans, respectively) travelling from Arabia to Somalia and marrying into the local Dir clan. In 1332, the Zeila-based King of Adal was slain in a military campaign aimed at halting Abyssinian emperor Amda Seyon I 's march toward the city. When the last Sultan of Ifat, Sa'ad ad-Din II , was also killed by Emperor Dawit I in Zeila in 1410, his children escaped to Yemen, before returning in 1415. In

1547-869: The Federal Correctional Institution, Sandstone , a low-security federal prison in Minnesota. The Salman Al-Farisi Islamic Center in Corvallis, Oregon , where Mohamud occasionally attended services, was set on fire on November 28, 2010. Police determined that arson was the cause and investigated it as a possible hate crime . In response, the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on authorities to increase their presence in Muslim communities in Oregon. On August 24, 2011, federal agents arrested Cody Seth Crawford, 24, on

1638-662: The Federal Government of Somalia was formed and a period of reconstruction began in Mogadishu, despite al-Shabaab frequently carrying out attacks there . Somalia is among the least developed countries in the world, as evidenced by its ranking in metrics such as GDP per capita , Human Development Index , and the Fragile States Index . It has maintained an informal economy mainly based on livestock, remittances from Somalis working abroad , and telecommunications. It

1729-648: The Federal Republic of Somalia , is the easternmost country in continental Africa . The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, and the Indian Ocean to the east. Somalia has the longest coastline on Africa's mainland. Somalia has an estimated population of 18.1 million, of which 2.7 million live in

1820-770: The Guled dynasty , the Habr Yunis Sultanate led by the Ainanshe dynasty , the Sultanate of the Geledi (Gobroon dynasty), the Majeerteen Sultanate (Migiurtinia), and the Sultanate of Hobyo (Obbia). They continued the tradition of castle-building and seaborne trade established by previous Somali empires. Sultan Yusuf Mahamud Ibrahim , the third Sultan of the House of Gobroon, started

1911-806: The Nabataean Kingdom , and the Roman Empire . They used the ancient Somali maritime vessel known as the beden to transport their cargo. After the Roman conquest of the Nabataean Empire and the Roman naval presence at Aden to curb piracy, Arab and Somali merchants agreed with the Romans to bar Indian ships from trading in the free port cities of the Arabian peninsula to protect the interests of Somali and Arab merchants in

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2002-525: The Ogaden War broke out after Barre's government used a plea for national unity to justify an aggressive incorporation of the predominantly Somali-inhabited Ogaden region of Ethiopia into a Pan-Somali Greater Somalia , along with the rich agricultural lands of south-eastern Ethiopia, infrastructure, and strategically important areas as far north as Djibouti. In the first week of the conflict, Somali armed forces took southern and central Ogaden and for most of

2093-583: The Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the predecessor of the African Union (AU). In July 1976, Barre's SRC disbanded itself and established in its place the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP), a one-party government based on scientific socialism and Islamic tenets. The SRSP was an attempt to reconcile the official state ideology with the official state religion by adapting Marxist precepts to local circumstances. Emphasis

2184-791: The Portuguese India blockade ( and later the Omani interference), used the Somali ports of Merca and Barawa (which were out of the two powers' direct jurisdiction) to conduct their trade in safety and without interference. In the early modern period, successor states to the Adal Sultanate and Ajuran Sultanate began to flourish in Somalia. These included the Hiraab Imamate , the Isaaq Sultanate led by

2275-710: The Potsdam Conference , the United Nations granted Italy trusteeship of Italian Somaliland as the Trust Territory of Somaliland , on the condition first proposed by the Somali Youth League (SYL) and other nascent Somali political organizations, such as Hizbia Digil Mirifle Somali (HDMS) and the Somali National League (SNL)—that Somalia achieve independence within ten years. British Somaliland remained

2366-730: The Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), together with the non-violent political oppositions of the Somali Democratic Movement (SDM), the Somali Democratic Alliance (SDA) and the Somali Manifesto Group (SMG). As the moral authority of Barre's government was gradually eroded, many Somalis became disillusioned with life under military rule. By the mid-1980s, resistance movements supported by Ethiopia's communist Derg administration had sprung up across

2457-514: The Wargaade Wall , are evidence of an old civilization that once thrived in the Somali peninsula. This civilization enjoyed a trading relationship with ancient Egypt and Mycenaean Greece since the second millennium BCE, supporting the hypothesis that Somalia or adjacent regions were the location of the ancient Land of Punt . The Puntites native to the region traded myrrh , spices, gold, ebony, short-horned cattle, ivory and frankincense with

2548-589: The pen name Ibnul Mubarak, Mohamud had written articles on physical fitness for the English-language publication Jihad Recollections as part of his earlier attempts to be associated with violent jihad ideology. He maintained contact with a former American student living in Pakistan . Mohamud had been monitored by the FBI for months. He reportedly attracted the interest of the FBI after agents intercepted e-mails he

2639-558: The "tallest and handsomest of all men". The Macrobians were warrior herders and seafarers. According to Herodotus' account, the Persian Emperor Cambyses II , upon his conquest of Egypt in 525 BC, sent ambassadors to Macrobia, bringing luxury gifts for the Macrobian king to entice his submission. The Macrobian ruler, who was elected based on his stature and beauty, replied instead with a challenge for his Persian counterpart in

2730-497: The 1903 victory at Cagaarweyne commanded by Suleiman Aden Galaydh , forcing the British Empire to retreat to the coastal region in the early 1900s. The Dervishes were finally defeated in 1920 by British airpower. The dawn of fascism in the early 1920s heralded a change of strategy for Italy, as the north-eastern sultanates were soon to be forced within the boundaries of La Grande Somalia (" Greater Somalia ") according to

2821-572: The 21st of October, General Siad led a military coup and successfully overthrew the parliamentary government. Modern political analysts assert that the coup was motivated by corruption in the parliamentary government. The bodyguard was tried, tortured and executed by the Supreme Revolutionary Council . He came from the same clan background as the President who he killed. Alongside Barre, the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) that assumed power after President Sharmarke's assassination

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2912-718: The Abyssinian empire. This 16th-century campaign is historically known as the Conquest of Abyssinia ( Futuh al-Habash ). During the war, Imam Ahmad pioneered the use of cannons supplied by the Ottoman Empire, which he imported through Zeila and deployed against Abyssinian forces and their Portuguese allies led by Cristóvão da Gama . During the Ajuran Sultanate period, the city-states and republics of Merca , Mogadishu , Barawa , Hobyo and their respective ports flourished and had

3003-552: The British. A British force, including troops from several African countries, launched the campaign in January 1941 from Kenya to liberate British Somaliland and Italian-occupied Ethiopia and conquer Italian Somaliland. By February most of Italian Somaliland was captured and, in March, British Somaliland was retaken from the sea. The forces of the British Empire operating in Somaliland comprised

3094-724: The Civil War South (2015); Securing the City: Inside America's Best Counterterror Force – the NYPD (2009), and a memoir, Summer of Deliverance (1998), about his father, the poet/novelist James Dickey . Christopher Dickey was born on August 31, 1951, in Nashville, Tennessee , to Maxine (Syerson) Dickey and American poet/novelist James Dickey . During his early years, his family moved to Atlanta, France, Italy, Oregon, and Virginia. In 1972, Dickey received his bachelor of arts degree from

3185-457: The Contras , Summer of Deliverance , and Securing the City as notable books of the year in 1986, 1998, and 2009, respectively. From 2010 to 2013, after Newsweek was acquired by IAC , Dickey worked for both Newsweek and The Daily Beast as Paris bureau chief and Middle East editor but stayed with The Daily Beast when Newsweek was sold a third time. In March 2014, he was named world news editor for The Daily Beast . In 1983–84, Dickey

3276-405: The East African coast. In Somaliland , the Isaaq Sultanate was established in 1750. The Isaaq Sultanate was a Somali kingdom that ruled parts of the Horn of Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries. It spanned the territories of the Isaaq clan, descendants of the Banu Hashim clan, in modern-day Somaliland and Ethiopia . The sultanate was governed by the Rer Guled branch established by

3367-520: The Egyptians, Phoenicians, Babylonians, Indians, Chinese and Romans through their commercial ports. An Egyptian expedition sent to Punt by the 18th dynasty Queen Hatshepsut is recorded on the temple reliefs at Deir el-Bahari , during the reign of the Puntite King Parahu and Queen Ati. In the classical era , the Macrobians , who may have been ancestral to Somalis, established a powerful kingdom that ruled large parts of modern Somalia. They were reputed for their longevity and wealth, and were said to be

3458-444: The FBI ensured that the device had no explosive components—even the detonating caps were inert—the public was never in any danger. According to an affidavit , Mohamud told the agents, "I want whoever is attending that event to leave, to leave either dead or injured." Early analysis questioned whether entrapment by FBI operatives was involved, an Oregonian columnist asking "how far would Mohamud have traveled down that road without

3549-402: The Horn of Africa comes from cemeteries in Somalia dating back to the 4th millennium BCE. The stone implements from the Jalelo site in the north were also characterized in 1909 as important artifacts demonstrating the archaeological universality during the Paleolithic between the East and the West. According to linguists, the first Afroasiatic -speaking populations arrived in the region during

3640-403: The Horn, also erected various tumuli . These masons are believed to have been ancestral to ethnic Somalis. In the 16th century, Duarte Barbosa noted that many ships from the Kingdom of Cambaya in modern-day India sailed to Mogadishu with cloth and spices, for which they in return received gold, wax and ivory. Barbosa also highlighted the abundance of meat, wheat, barley, horses, and fruit on

3731-435: The ICU fragment into various rebel factions, including the hardline group al-Shabaab , which waged a protracted conflict against Ethiopian forces. al-Shabaab soon began asserting territorial control for the first time, and by late 2008 the insurgency had driven the Ethiopian army out of much of Somalia. In 2009, a new TFG government was established. By mid-2012, al-Shabaab lost most of its territories during fighting against

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3822-436: The Isaaq Sultanate for centuries starting from the 13th century. The last Tolje'lo ruler Garad Dhuh Barar ( Somali : Dhuux Baraar ) was overthrown by a coalition of Isaaq clans. The once strong Tolje'lo clan were scattered and took refuge amongst the Habr Awal with whom they still mostly live. In the late 19th century, after the Berlin Conference of 1884, European powers began the Scramble for Africa . In that year,

3913-426: The Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade, including the Ajuran Sultanate , Adal Sultanate , and the Sultanate of the Geledi . In the late 19th century, Somali sultanates were colonized by the Italian and British Empires, who merged all of these tribal territories into two colonies : Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland . In 1960, the two territories united to form

4004-412: The Middle East, with occasional forays into Africa and the Balkans. From his experiences in the field he produced the non-fiction books of reportage, With the Contras: A Reporter in the Wilds of Nicaragua (1986) and Expats: Travels in Arabia from Tripoli to Tehran (1990), as well as two novels, Innocent Blood (1997) and its sequel, The Sleeper (2004). The New York Times Book Review selected With

4095-404: The Roman and Greek world; the Romans and Greeks believed the source to have been the Somali peninsula. The collusive agreement among Somali and Arab traders inflated the price of Indian and Chinese cinnamon in North Africa, the Near East, and Europe, and made the cinnamon trade a very profitable revenue generator, especially for the Somali merchants. Islam was introduced to the area early on by

4186-469: The Somali coast in exchange for grain and wood. Trading relations were established with Malacca in the 15th century, with cloth, ambergris and porcelain being the main commodities of the trade. Giraffes, zebras and incense were exported to the Ming Empire of China, which established Somali merchants as leaders in the commerce between East Asia and the Horn. Hindu merchants from Surat and Southeast African merchants from Pate , seeking to bypass both

4277-495: The Somali government was "ready and willing" to assist in preventing future attempts. Mohamud was charged with a single count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction . His trial began on January 10, 2013 and concluded on January 31 with the jury finding him guilty. He faced up to life in prison and was initially scheduled to be sentenced on June 27, 2013. However, in a motion filed on June 17, federal prosecutors requested that sentencing be delayed two to three months because

4368-400: The Somalis in 1884 and 1886) and the Somali Region to Ethiopia, based on a treaty they signed in 1897 in which the British ceded Somali territory to the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik in exchange for his help against possible advances by the French. Britain included the conditional provision that the Somali residents would retain their autonomy, but Ethiopia immediately claimed sovereignty over

4459-418: The TFG and African Union troops . That same year, al-Shabaab pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda . The insurgents still control much of central and southern Somalia, and wield influence in government-controlled areas, with the town of Jilib acting as the de facto capital for the insurgents. A new provisional constitution was passed in August 2012, reforming Somalia as a federation . The same month,

4550-524: The United States enabled it to build the largest army in Africa. A new constitution was promulgated in 1979 under which elections for a People's Assembly were held. However, Barre's Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party politburo continued to rule. In October 1980, the SRSP was disbanded, and the Supreme Revolutionary Council was re-established in its place. By that time, Barre's government had become increasingly unpopular. Many Somalis had become disillusioned with life under military dictatorship. The regime

4641-474: The University of Virginia. In 1974, he received his master's degree in documentary filmmaking from Boston University. Dickey's career as a foreign correspondent began when he was named Mexico and Central America Bureau Chief for The Washington Post in 1980 after he had spent six years in various editing and writing positions at the paper. Over the following three decades for The Washington Post and then for Newsweek , he covered wars in Central America and

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4732-435: The aid of Ethiopia's communist Derg regime. By 1978, the Somali troops were ultimately pushed out of the Ogaden. This shift in support by the Soviet Union motivated the Barre government to seek allies elsewhere. It eventually settled on the Soviets' Cold War arch-rival, the United States , which had been courting the Somali government for some time. Somalia's initial friendship with the Soviet Union and later partnership with

4823-399: The area. This prompted an unsuccessful bid by Britain in 1956 to buy back the Somali lands it had turned over. Britain also granted administration of the almost exclusively Somali-inhabited Northern Frontier District (NFD) to Kenyan nationalists. This was despite a plebiscite in which, according to a British colonial commission, almost all of the territory's ethnic Somalis favored joining

4914-411: The capital and largest city, Mogadishu . Around 85% of its residents are ethnic Somalis and the official languages of the country are Somali and Arabic , though the former is the primary language. Somalia has historic and religious ties to the Arab world . As such the people in Somalia are Muslims , the majority of them Sunni . In antiquity, Somalia was an important commercial center. During

5005-418: The city's annual Christmas tree lighting. The fake bomb was in a white van that carried six 55-gallon drums with what appeared to be real detonation cords and plastic caps. Mohamud tried to detonate the bomb by dialing a cell phone that was attached to it. When the device failed to explode, the undercover agent suggested he get out of the car to obtain better reception. When he did so he was arrested. Because

5096-442: The coastal markets, which generated enormous wealth for the merchants. Mogadishu, the center of a thriving textile industry known as toob benadir (specialized for the markets in Egypt, among other places ), together with Merca and Barawa, also served as a transit stop for Swahili merchants from Mombasa and Malindi and for the gold trade from Kilwa . Jewish merchants from the Hormuz brought their Indian textile and fruit to

5187-529: The country declared its independence as the Republic of Somaliland in May 1991. Although de facto independent and relatively stable compared to the tumultuous south, it has not been recognized by any foreign government. Christopher Dickey Christopher Swift Dickey (August 31, 1951 – July 16, 2020) was an American journalist, author, and news editor. He was the Paris-based world news editor for The Daily Beast . He authored seven books, including Our Man in Charleston: Britain's Secret Agent in

5278-419: The country. Barre responded by ordering punitive measures against those he perceived as locally supporting the guerrillas, especially in the northern regions. The clampdown included bombing of cities, with the northwestern administrative centre of Hargeisa , a Somali National Movement (SNM) stronghold, among the targeted areas in 1988. The clampdown initiated by Barre 's government extended its reach beyond

5369-448: The crime, so everything on the tape is shit." A The Washington Post feature traced the radical roots of the ideology held by young Somalis such as Mohamud to the Islamicization of Somalia following the collapse of the socialist government of Mohamed Siad Barre . Somali Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Omar said "Mohamud's attempt is neither representative nor an example of Somalis. Somalis are peace-loving people," adding that

5460-400: The earliest known depictions of a hunter on horseback. The rock art is dated to 1,000 to 3,000 BCE. Additionally, between the towns of Las Khorey and El Ayo in northern Somalia lies Karinhegane , the site of numerous cave paintings, which collectively have been estimated to be around 2,500 years old. Ancient pyramidical structures, mausoleums , ruined cities and stone walls, such as

5551-531: The early 15th century, Adal's capital was moved further inland to the town of Dakkar , where Sabr ad-Din II , the eldest son of Sa'ad ad-Din II, established a new base after his return from Yemen. Adal's headquarters were again relocated the following century, this time southward to Harar . From this new capital, Adal organised an effective army led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (Ahmad "Gurey" or "Gran"; both meaning "the left-handed") and his closest top general Garad Hirabu "Emir Of The Somalis that invaded

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5642-402: The economy. A thriving black market existed in the centre of the city as banks experienced shortages of local currency for exchange. Harsh exchange control regulations were introduced to prevent export of foreign currency. Although no travel restrictions were placed on foreigners, photographing many locations was banned. During daytime in Mogadishu, the appearance of any government military force

5733-411: The ensuing Neolithic period from the family's proposed urheimat ("original homeland") in the Nile Valley , or the Near East . The Laas Geel complex on the outskirts of Hargeisa in northwestern Somalia dates back approximately 5,000 years, and has rock art depicting both wild animals and decorated cows. Other cave paintings are found in the northern Dhambalin region, which feature one of

5824-413: The first Muslims of Mecca fleeing prosecution during the first Hejira with Masjid al-Qiblatayn in Zeila being built before the Qiblah towards Mecca . It is one of the oldest mosques in Africa. In the late 9th century, Al-Yaqubi wrote that Muslims were living along the northern Somali seaboard. He also mentioned that the Adal Kingdom had its capital in the city. According to Leo Africanus ,

5915-409: The first sultan, Sultan Guled Abdi , of the Eidagale clan. According to oral tradition, prior to the Guled dynasty the Isaaq clan-family were ruled by a dynasty of the Tolje'lo branch starting from, descendants of Ahmed nicknamed Tol Je'lo, the eldest son of Sheikh Ishaaq 's Harari wife. There were eight Tolje'lo rulers in total, starting with Boqor Harun ( Somali : Boqor Haaruun ) who ruled

6006-405: The form of an unstrung bow: if the Persians could manage to draw it, they would have the right to invade his country; but until then, they should thank the gods that the Macrobians never decided to invade their empire. The Macrobians were a regional power reputed for their advanced architecture and gold wealth, which was so plentiful that they shackled their prisoners in golden chains. The camel

6097-543: The golden age of the Gobroon Dynasty. His army came out victorious during the Bardheere Jihad, which restored stability in the region and revitalized the East African ivory trade . He also had cordial relations and received gifts from the rulers of neighbouring and distant kingdoms such as the Omani, Witu and Yemeni Sultans. Sultan Ibrahim's son Ahmed Yusuf succeeded him as one of the most important figures in 19th-century East Africa, receiving tribute from Omani governors and creating alliances with important Muslim families on

6188-407: The government needs more time to prepare its sentencing recommendations. Mohamud's sentencing was subsequently rescheduled for December 18, 2013, then cancelled in anticipation of defense motions. In October 2014, Mohamud was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison along with credit for time served since his arrest, as well as lifetime supervision upon his scheduled release in 2036. He is being held at

6279-508: The help of those very operatives?" Noting "astonishing similarities" to a simultaneous case near Baltimore, Maryland , The Oregonian quoted a New York University expert that such cases were "a strategy the FBI set upon years ago." Presumably aware of legal defenses based on issues of entrapment, FBI agents reportedly offered Mohamud multiple alternatives to a bombing with mass casualties, including prayer. Mohamud reportedly insisted he wanted to play an "operational" role, and even wanted to pick

6370-414: The independent Somali Republic under a civilian government. Siad Barre of the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) seized power in 1969 and established the Somali Democratic Republic , brutally attempting to squash the Somaliland War of Independence in the north of the country. The SRC collapsed in 1991 with the onset of the Somali Civil War . The Transitional National Government of Somalia (TNG)

6461-427: The initial bombings in the north to encompass various regions across the country. This reproduction of aggressive strategies aimed at stifling descent and retaining authority over the populace was a hallmark of the government's repressive actions in the South. One of the most notable instances occurred in 1991, when Barre's regime initiated a ruthless arial assault that led to the deaths of numerous innocent individuals in

6552-562: The literacy rate. The Somali Democratic Republic achieved a literacy rate of 70%, one of the highest in Africa at the time. In addition to a nationalization program of industry and land, the new regime's foreign policy placed an emphasis on Somalia's traditional and religious links with the Arab world , eventually joining the Arab League in February, 1974. That same year, Barre also served as chairman of

6643-559: The lucrative commerce between the Red and Mediterranean Seas. However, Indian merchants continued to trade in the port cities of the Somali peninsula, which was free from Roman interference. For centuries, Indian merchants brought large quantities of cinnamon to Somalia and Arabia from Ceylon and the Spice Islands . The source of the cinnamon and other spices is said to have been the best-kept secret of Arab and Somali merchants in their trade with

6734-492: The newly formed Somali Republic. A referendum was held in neighbouring Djibouti (then known as French Somaliland ) in 1958, on the eve of Somalia's independence in 1960, to decide whether or not to join the Somali Republic or to remain with France. The referendum turned out in favour of a continued association with France, largely due to a combined yes vote by the sizable Afar ethnic group and resident Europeans. There

6825-530: The plan of Fascist Italy. With the arrival of Governor Cesare Maria De Vecchi on 15 December 1923, things began to change for that part of Somaliland known as Italian Somaliland . The last piece of land acquired by Italy in Somalia was Oltre Giuba , present-day Jubaland region, in 1925. The Italians began local infrastructure projects, including the construction of hospitals, farms and schools. Fascist Italy , under Benito Mussolini , attacked Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935, with an aim to colonize it. The invasion

6916-494: The protectorate stagnated in political administrative development. The disparity between the two territories in economic development and political experience would later cause serious difficulties integrating the two parts. Meanwhile, in 1948, under pressure from their World War II allies and to the dismay of the Somalis, the British returned the Haud (an important Somali grazing area that was presumably protected by British treaties with

7007-435: The target for the bombing. He had also been told several times that his planned bomb could kill women and children, and was given multiple opportunities to back out, but he told agents: "Since I was 15 I thought about all this... It's gonna be a fireworks show... a spectacular show." Christopher Dickey of Newsweek said the FBI "took no chances with the court of public opinion " to make sure that Mohamud did not appear to be

7098-525: The three divisions of South African, West African, and East African troops. They were assisted by Somali forces led by Abdulahi Hassan with Somalis of the Isaaq , Dhulbahante , and Warsangali clans prominently participating. The number of Italian Somalis began to decline after World War II, with fewer than 10,000 remaining in 1960. Following World War II, Britain retained control of both British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland as protectorates. In 1945, during

7189-436: The town of Beledwene , situated in southern Somalia. The cruelty and magnitude of this atrocity highlighted the degree to which the government was prepared to go to quash any sort of opposition or resistance, displaying a blatant disregard for human rights and the worth of human life. Another notable instance of Barre 's repressive policies occurred in the city of Baidoa , which earned the nickname 'the city of death' due to

7280-498: The tragic events that unfolded there during the famine and civil war . Hundreds of thousands of individuals lost their lives as a consequence of governmental strategies specifically aimed at the Rahanweyn community residing in these areas. During 1990, in the capital city of Mogadishu, the residents were prohibited from gathering publicly in groups greater than three or four. Fuel shortages, inflation, and currency devaluation impacted

7371-567: The war, the Somali army scored continuous victories on the Ethiopian army and followed them as far as Sidamo . By September 1977, Somalia controlled 90% of the Ogaden and captured strategic cities such as Jijiga and put heavy pressure on Dire Dawa , threatening the train route from the latter city to Djibouti. After the siege of Harar, a massive unprecedented Soviet intervention consisting of 20,000 Cuban forces and several thousand Soviet experts came to

7462-565: Was also widespread vote rigging, with the French expelling thousands of Somalis before the referendum reached the polls. The majority of those who voted 'no' were Somalis who were strongly in favour of joining a united Somalia, as had been proposed by Mahmoud Harbi , Vice President of the Government Council. Harbi was killed in a plane crash two years later. Djibouti finally gained independence from France in 1977, and Hassan Gouled Aptidon ,

7553-549: Was an Edward R. Murrow Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations . Articles and essays by Dickey have appeared in Foreign Affairs , Foreign Policy , The New York Times Book Review , The New York Review of Books , Vanity Fair , Departures , and many other publications. Robert De Niro's Tribeca Productions optioned Securing the City in the fall of 2009, to develop into a television series. The Christopher Dickey Award

7644-519: Was condemned by the League of Nations , but little was done to stop it or to liberate occupied Ethiopia. In 1936, Italian Somalia was integrated into Italian East Africa , alongside Eritrea and Ethiopia, as the Somalia Governorate . On 3 August 1940, Italian troops, including Somali colonial units, crossed from Ethiopia to invade British Somaliland , and by 14 August, succeeded in taking Berbera from

7735-703: Was established in 2000, followed by the formation of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) in 2004, which reestablished the Somali Armed Forces . At the end of 2006, a US-backed Ethiopian invasion overthrew the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), leading to the installation of the TFG in Mogadishu under an Ethiopian military occupation . The subsequent insurgency which emerged saw

7826-641: Was exchanging with a man who had returned to the Middle East , and whom law enforcement officials described as a “recruiter for terrorism.” The man had previously lived in Oregon , where Mohamud reportedly met him, before moving first to Yemen and then to Pakistan . A year prior to his arrest, he was accused but not charged with date raping an intoxicated woman on the Oregon State University campus. Prior to Mohamud's arrest, an undercover FBI agent, posing as

7917-536: Was extremely rare. Alleged late-night operations by government authorities, however, included "disappearances" of individuals from their homes. In 1991, the Barre administration was ousted by a coalition of clan-based opposition groups, backed by Ethiopia's then-ruling Derg regime and Libya . Following a meeting of the Somali National Movement and northern clans' elders, the northern former British portion of

8008-469: Was formed by Abdullahi Issa and Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal with other members of the trusteeship and protectorate governments, with Abdulcadir Muhammed Aden as President of the Somali National Assembly , Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as President of the Somali Republic, and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as Prime Minister (later to become president from 1967 to 1969). On 20 July 1961 and through

8099-813: Was led by Brigadier General Mohamed Ainanshe Guled , Lieutenant Colonel Salaad Gabeyre Kediye and Chief of Police Jama Korshel . Kediye officially held the title "Father of the Revolution", and Barre shortly afterwards became the head of the SRC. The SRC subsequently renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic, dissolved the parliament and the Supreme Court, and suspended the constitution. The revolutionary government established large-scale public works programs and successfully implemented an urban and rural literacy campaign, which helped dramatically increase

8190-481: Was placed on the Muslim principles of social progress, equality and justice, which the government argued formed the core of scientific socialism and its own accent on self-sufficiency, public participation and popular control, as well as direct ownership of the means of production. While the SRSP encouraged private investment on a limited scale, the administration's overall direction was essentially communist . In July 1977,

8281-627: Was weakened further in the 1980s as the Cold War drew to a close and Somalia's strategic importance was diminished. The government became increasingly authoritarian , and resistance movements , encouraged by Ethiopia, sprang up across the country, eventually leading to the Somali Civil War . Among the militia groups were the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF), United Somali Congress (USC), Somali National Movement (SNM) and

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