Following Barre’s removal from power, the Somali Democratic Republic divided into two opposing parties, the Somali National Movement in the North and the United Somali Congress of the South. This shift in the balance of power sparked a twenty-plus-year civil war that killed as many as one million Somalis via violence, famine or disease. In 1991, a coup ousted dictator Mohammed Siad Barre, President of the Somali Democratic Republic.

To understand the magnitude and scope of inflicted trauma, and in order to prevent its recurrence, military historians and students should consider the following five significant African wars and conflicts of the 20th Century. From the Nigerian Civil War to the Somali Civil War, these 20th Century conflicts submitted civilians to intense physical and psychological trauma that negatively impacted development throughout many African nations. Armed conflicts in Africa during the twentieth century caused an enormous loss of human life, the collapse of socio-economic systems, and the degradation of health and education services across the continent.

Most recent armed conflict in africa