The conflicts of the existing frontiers on the Horn of Africa can be traced as far back as the European scramble for
Africa territories in the early nineteenth century. The boundary between the then Italian Somalialand and Ethiopia,
although defined by the treaties of 1897 and 1908 between King Menelik and the Italians, remained undemarcated on the grounds
Haile Sellassie, the ageless personification of imperial dignity, triumphantly returned to Ethiopia from exile. However, events in the Ogaden took on another dimensions. Haile Sellassie began a relentless campaign for the consolidation of personal power and expansion of the Ethiopian State. He proclaimed, "I have come to restore the independence of my country including Eritrea and Southern Somalia whose people will henceforth dwell under the shade of the Ethiopian flag
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ ... 86/KCA.htmAs events were unfolding, an emergency meeting between Somalia and Ethiopia was held in Aden under the chairmanship of Fidel Castro.20 The theme of the meeting was an attempt to convince the two leader to lay aside their differences and to form a Marxist Confederation. Apparently, such a resolution was aimed at consolidating the Soviet influences on the Horn of Africa and give it control over the economically entrance to the
Red Sea and Indian Ocean. Said Barre is said to have vowed that Somalia had no intentions of attacking another socialist country. Shortly after the meeting, Said Barre rebuffed the Soviet initiative. He stated that international solutions were fruitless until the national question of a "Greater Somalia" had been solved.
SIAD BARRE: ULTRA NATIONALIST AND LOST HIS KINGDOM BECAUSE OF OGADENIA. HE DESERVES A MONUMENT FOR HIS BRAVERY
