Dec. 9 1992 - US Marines begin Operation Restore Hope in Somalia

In 1992 the UN authorized the American peacekeeping force to lead a restoration of humanitarian efforts. The US Marines came ashore at Mogadishu on December 9, 1992. They were authorized to use any means necessary to restore order and deliver food to thousands of starving Somalis. By March the famine conditions had become much better under strong supervision from the United States.

By late in 1993, the situation had changed, Somali gangs led by Al Qaeda had shot down a US Military Helicopter. It was well chronicled in the book "Blackhawk Down."