Changes

The central government also sought ties with many Arab countries, and continued to receive financial and military support from several Arab countries prior to its collapse in 1991.  

The central government also sought ties with many Arab countries, and continued to receive financial and military support from several Arab countries prior to its collapse in 1991.  

In 1963, Somalia severed diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom for a period following a dispute over Kenya's Somali-populated northeastern region (Northern Frontier District), an area inhabited mainly by Somalis. Related problems have arisen from the boundary with Ethiopia and the large-scale migrations of Somali nomads between Ethiopia and Somalia. In the aftermath of the 1977-78 war between Somalia and Ethiopia, the Government of Somalia continued to call for self-determination for ethnic Somalis living in the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia. At the March 1983 Nonaligned Movement summit in New Delhi, President Siad Barre stated that Somalia harbored no expansionist aims and was willing to negotiate with Ethiopia over the disputed Ogaden region.  

In 1963, Somalia severed diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom for a period following a dispute over Kenya's Somali-populated northeastern region (Northern Frontier District), an area inhabited mainly by Somalis. Related problems have arisen from the boundary with Ethiopia and the large-scale migrations of Somali nomads between Ethiopia and Somalia. In the aftermath of the 1977-78 war between Somalia and Ethiopia, the Government of Somalia continued to call for self-determination for ethnic Somalis living in the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia. At the March 1983 Nonaligned Movement summit in New Delhi, President Siad Barre stated that Somalia harbored no expansionist aims and was willing to [[negotiate]] with Ethiopia over the disputed Ogaden region.  

In 1978, emboldened by Soviet support, Barre launched an invasion of the Ogaden region in Ethiopia, hoping to expand Somali influence. The campaign backfired disastrously. Ethiopia, now also a Marxist ally of the USSR and aided heavily by Cuban troops, repelled the Somali offensive and retaliated by devastating villages in the Ogaden region. As a result, roughly one million civilians—mostly women and children—were forced to flee into Somalia, creating a refugee crisis on top of an already strained nation.

In 1978, emboldened by Soviet support, Barre launched an invasion of the Ogaden region in Ethiopia, hoping to expand Somali influence. The campaign backfired disastrously. Ethiopia, now also a Marxist ally of the USSR and aided heavily by Cuban troops, repelled the Somali offensive and retaliated by devastating villages in the Ogaden region. As a result, roughly one million civilians—mostly women and children—were forced to flee into Somalia, creating a refugee crisis on top of an already strained nation.