United Nations Operation in Somalia I United Nations Operation in Somalia I ( UNOSOM I ) was the first part of a United Nations ( UN ) sponsored effort to provide , facilitate , and secure humanitarian relief in Somalia , as well as to monitor the first UN - brokered ceasefire of the Somali Civil War conflict in the early 1990s . The operation was established in April 1992 and ran until its duties were assumed by the UNITAF mission in December 1992 . Following the dissolution of UNITAF in May 1993 , the subsequent UN mission in Somalia was known as UNOSOM II . Background . Following the eruption and escalation of the civil war in Somalia in 1991 , the UN and the Organization of African Unity ( OAU ) strived to abate the suffering that was caused as a result of the high - intensity conflict . Of the Somali population of 4 . 5 million people , over half were in severe danger of starvation and malnutrition - related disease , mostly in the drought - stricken rural areas . Another 1 . 5 million were judged at moderate risk of malnutrition . Three hundred thousand people died outright in the early months of 1992 and another million fled the country as refugees . The UN was engaged in Somalia from early in 1991 when the civil strife began . UN personnel were withdrawn on several occasions during sporadic flare - ups of violence . A series of Security Council resolutions ( 733 , 746 ) and diplomatic visits eventually helped impose a ceasefire between the two key factions , signed at the end of March 1992 . These efforts were aided by other international bodies , such as the Organisation for African Unity , the League of Arab States and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference . Creation of UNOSOM I . The UN , with the active support of all rebel faction leaders , felt that some sort of peacekeeping force would be required to uphold the ceasefire and assist the humanitarian relief effort , in conjunction with other relief agencies and NGOs . By the end of April 1992 , the Security Council adopted Resolution 751 . This provided for the establishment of a security force of 50 UN troops in Somalia to monitor the ceasefire . This detachment would be known as the United Nations Operation in Somalia ( UNOSOM ) and it existed at the consent of those parties who had been represented in the ceasefire . The resolution also allowed for an expansion of the security force , with a number of around 500 troops initially discussed . The first group of ceasefire observers arrived in Mogadishu in early July 1992 . Ineffectiveness of UNOSOM I . Despite the UN ' s efforts , all over Somalia the ceasefire was ignored , fighting continued , and continued to increase , putting the relief operations at great risk . The main parties to the ceasefire , General Mohamed Farrah Aidid and " President " Ali Mahdi Muhammad , once again showing the difficult and troubled relations between the warlords , proved to be difficult negotiating partners and continually frustrated attempts to move the peacekeepers and supplies . In August 1992 the Security Council endorsed sending of another 3 , 000 troops to the region to protect relief efforts . However , most of these troops were never sent . Over the final quarter of 1992 , the situation in Somalia continued to get worse . Factions in Somalia were splintering into smaller factions and splintering again . Agreements for food distribution with one party were worthless when the stores had to be shipped through the territory of another . Some elements were actively opposing the UNOSOM intervention . Troops were shot at , aid ships attacked and prevented from docking , cargo aircraft were fired upon and aid agencies , public and private , were subject to threats , robbery and extortion . Meanwhile , hundreds , if not thousands of poverty stricken refugees were starving to death every day . By November 1992 , General Mohamed Farrah Aidid had grown confident enough to formally defy the Security Council and demand the withdrawal of peace keepers , as well as declaring hostile intent against any further UN deployments . Transition to UNITAF and UNOSOM II . In November 1992 , the United States of America offered to establish a multinational force under its own leadership to secure the humanitarian operation . This offer was accepted by the Security Council , and what became known as the Unified Task Force ( UNITAF ) was authorized to utilize " all necessary means " to ensure the protection of the relief efforts . Accordingly , the Security Council suspended any further significant strengthening of UNOSOM as UN affairs in Somalia were subsumed by UNITAF ( also known to Americans as Operation Restore Hope ) . With only a handful of the 3 , 000 plus troops envisaged for UNOSOM ever put in place , the Security Council left it to “ the discretion of the Secretary General ” as to what should be done with the abortive mission . UNITAF was composed of forces from 24 different countries , with the vast bulk contributed by the United States . UNITAF soon secured the relief operations which were being coordinated and carried out by UNOSOM , which was also attempting to negotiate a political end to the conflict . Indeed , although UNOSOM had been replaced by UNITAF , it was technically still in operation and would remain ready to resume its function when UNITAF had met its goals of creating a secure environment for humanitarian relief . The Secretary - General convened a meeting in early 1993 in which 14 important Somalia political and rebel factions agreed to hand over all of their weapons to UNITAF and UNOSOM , and over $ 130 million was pledged by donors at an aid conference that year to assist in reconstruction . However , Somalia continued the stumble , and in March the UN decided to transform the UNITAF mission into what came to be known as UNOSOM II . The mandate of UNOSOM II stipulated that the operation was to secure continued relief efforts and , more significantly , to restore peace and rebuild the Somali state and economy . Statistics . In the few months of its operation , 54 military observers and 893 military personnel served with UNOSOM I , supported by international civilian and local staff . The mission suffered six fatalities . Contributing nations were : Australia , Austria , Bangladesh , Belgium , Canada , Czech Republic , Egypt , Fiji , Finland , Indonesia , Jordan , Morocco , New Zealand , Norway , Pakistan and Zimbabwe .