ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the background to the conflict in Somalia and examines the applicability of international humanitarian law to failed states and to UN forces. It addresses the justification for intervention in Somalia. The armed encounters between Somali warlords and UN peacekeepers do not fit squarely into any characterization of armed conflict. It was an uber-internationalized non-international armed conflict. The conflict began as a non-international armed conflict between Siad Barre and those seeking to overthrow the government. When United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM) arrived in Somalia as a neutral—though heavily armed—humanitarian provider, the conflict essentially remained the same: a state of civil war. Human rights groups meticulously documented abuses that could be verified, including violations of both human rights and international humanitarian law. There is little wonder that the peacekeepers were not greeted with open arms by a Somali society that had been cowed by civil war for the better part of two decades.
