Ibis Mission

The mission in Somalia was one of the most difficult operations carried out by the Italian Army, given its heavy death toll. Between January and August 1991, Siad Barre was ousted from power and a civil war broke out among the winning factions. Several missions were conducted in Somalia to evacuate foreign residents. Italy, together with many other nations, took part in such missions with Operation Ippocampo Somalia, including Italian Army special units. The Italian commitment continued with the participation in UNITAF (Unified Task Force). It was a multinational force aimed at enforcing the UN mandate, authorizing the employment of "all necessary means " to ensure a secure environment for the smooth flow of international food aid to the local population, plagued by drought and an ethnic and political civil conflict.

The UN Resolution, taking into account the difficulties encountered by the UN mission already in place, UNOSOM, asked the international community to perform a similar task Thus, UNITAF, swiftly mobilized and coordinated by the US, landed in Mogadishu and other coastal areas on December 9, 1992. UNITAF (Operation Restore Hope) was 45,000-strong; 28,000 troops were from America and 17,000 from Saudi Arabia, Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, the UK, Greece, India, Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, Norway, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Zimbabwe.
Italy took part in the mission with a battle group of 3,500 troops (Operation Italfor Ibis), equipped with armoured and light-armoured vehicles, as well as transport and attack helicopters. It was one of the largest contingents, besides that of the US.
The international forces cooperated with UNOSOM "blue berets" deployed throughout Somalia and started escorting and distributing food and medical aid to the civilian populations. UNITAF, headquartered in Mogadishu, launched an operation to disarm local militias and train police forces, an effort which was increasingly hindered by the "war lords" ruling over the various sectors of the Somali territory. In early May 1993, UNOSOM and UNITAF merged into UNOSOM II which, though relying on a reduced number of forces, carried on humanitarian relief and disarmament actions.
The Somali faction ruling over Mogadishu hindered all UN operations by causing a series of incidents; on June 5, 1993, during a mopping-up mission, Somali militias assaulted the "blue berets".
UNOSOM, in turn, attacked the local elements with increasing violence and set up reprisal actions. The "iron fist" policy chosen by the UN was criticized mainly by Rome, which decided to transfer its contingent from Mogadishu to Balad, following the attacks and aggressions suffered by Italfor Ibis II in July, which cost many human lives. The US redeployment, completed in October 1993, marked the end of an important phase of that operation. By the end of 1993, several national contingents were evacuated and, between January and March 1994, the Italian contingent pulled out, after being progressively reduced to 2,300 troops. Twelve Italians died in the mission, and among them a nurse of the CIV-CRI (Voluntary Nurse Corps-Italian Red Cross). The "Folgore" Airborne Brigade and the "Legnano" Mechanized Brigade (now disbanded) rotated in Somalia, together with many other units.

Images from Somalia available here.