46 years since the bloodless 1969 coup

On the 21st day of October 1969, Somalia joined the league of other African countries which were undergoing military coups and instability shortly after the end of colonial rule.

Military General Mohamed Siad Barre deposed then president Abdirashid Ali Sharmake who was also assassinated during the coup.

The coup installed in power the late General Siad Barre and brought an abrupt end to the process of party-based constitutional democracy in Somalia.

Mohamed Siad barre then ruled Somalia for 21 years under unilateral party called Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRP).

On the evening of 26 January 1991 Mohamed Siad Barre was forced by opponents of his regime to flee Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, for his clan homelands.

He did not give up his ambition of recapturing the city for many months, but, confronted by a vengeful Somali militia, and alarmed by disagreements between his own family and supporters, Siad eventually fled to Kenya.

It was the end of his 21-year rule in Somalia, which had started as Socialist experimentation and degenerated into dictatorship.

 Even though in the past, celebrations were organized by the Military Forces, mainly in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, the collapse of Barre’s regime heralded a political turmoil which ended any form of celebrations.

Somalia is however gradually moving towards stability and the return of the rule of law. The country will go into elections next year marking the end of the first post Transitional Federal Government administration.