ABSTRACT
Civil authority was restored to the Protectorate at the worst possible moment: just as the condominium which had effectively produced a Greater Somaliland fell apart. Growing army weakness and Somali squabbling notwithstanding, military rule continued through 1948 due to lack of viable alternatives and to ensure security while the fi rst steps were undertaken to disassemble the wartime whole, the Bevin plan having failed to gain international acceptance. The Ministry of Defence comprehended signifi cant trouble once it became clear that Somalia was to become a UN trusteeship, supervised by Italy, starting in January 1950, and that withdrawal from the Ogaden would commence starting 1 July 1949.1 The army would continue to administer a toe-hold in the Haud and the reserved areas. However, the general rule would be that the Somalis would graze their fl ocks in Ethiopian territory by sufferance and on such terms as could be negotiated.
