The Ogaden War
In 1977 and 1978, Somalia fought with its neighbour Ethiopia in the Ogaden war, in Somalia which was aimed at liberating and uniting the Somali lands that had been divided by the former colonial powers, and to win the right to self-determination of ethnic Somalis in those territories. Somalia first addressed Kenya and Ethiopia through diplomatic channels, but not this. Somalia, already preparing for war, created the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF, then known as the Western Somali Liberation Front, WSLF), and finally tried to capture the Ogaden. Somalia acted unilaterally without consulting the international community, which generally opposes redefine colonial boundaries, while the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries, refused to help Somalia, and instead backed communist Ethiopia. For most of the war, Somalia seems to be gaining in most of Ogaden, Somalia, but forces at the gates of Addis Ababa, the Soviet Union and Cuban forces and weapons came to the aid of Ethiopia. The Somali army was decimated and Somalia sought the help of the United States. Although the Carter Administration originally expressed interest in helping Somalia, which later was reduced, as well as American allies in the Middle East and Asia. The Americans might not want to engage the Soviets during this period of detente.
