Workers League - Behind the US invasion of Somalia - Mehring Books

although their scorched earth policy of destroying crops and livestock
caused a famine in which thousands died.
The British efforts proved so fruitless that a decision was taken in
1912 to abandon the hinterland, which was considered a waste of
money. However, at the end of World War I, with unrest in the
region growing, the British government concluded that a demonstration
of force was necessary.
The operation against the Somali people involved an unprecedented
combination of infantry, naval units and air power. Six DH-
9 fighters were crated to Berbera, and a landing strip prepared as the
Royal Air Force base for the campaign. The aircraft were armed with
machineguns and bombs, 20 pounds of high explosive and 12-pound
incendiaries, which were to be dropped on the Somali forts at
Medishe, Jidali and Taleh. As one writer noted, the methods of mass
slaughter perfected on the Western Front were imported into Africa.
On January 21,1920, the raids began. Special targets were the vast
herds of camels which had been, in previous years, the means by
which Muhammad and his supporters had slipped past the punitive
columns. Jidali and stock grazing close by were bombed. The same
day Medishe was hit.
For the next 14 days further sorties were flown against the forts
and fleeing columns of Somalis were strafed. At the same time, land
forces pursued what was left of Muhammad's army, in cooperation
with the RAF. Two naval landing parties, armed with light
machineguns and hand grenades, stormed Muhammad's coastal fort
at Galibaribur and took it. Finally, the fort at Taleh was reduced to
rubble through bombardment and Muhammad's followers were
dispersed. Many Somalis were killed, although Muhammad himself
managed to escape, to die a natural death within the year.
Far from establishing political stability, the crushing of the rebellion
sowed the seeds of future conflicts in the region. The Ethiopian
government, which had cooperated with the British in defeating
Muhammad, succeeded in strengthening its control over the Somali
clans in the Ogaden. Italy had also played a role in the war against the
Dervishes, whose influence extended into Italian territory as well.
The Italian rulers felt encouraged to continue their attempt to
develop a full-fledged colony, which would serve both as a source of
raw materials and a location whose agricultural potential might be
exploited by settlers from Italy. Land was set aside for Italian colonists
and forced labor was supplied from the Somali population. However,
in 1909 the Italian governor of Somalia, Tommaso Carletti, was
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