European colonial interests- The British in the North and the Italians in the South- advanced into Somalia in the 1880s. After World War II, colonialism gave way ti less formal control by Great Britain and Italy, and in 1960, with United Nations support, the two former colonies joined and became independent as the Somali Democratic Republic. But the stability of this nation did not last long. An alliance between the main ethnic Somali clans broke down in 1969, and in the 1970s Somalia fought Ethiopia over Somali-claimed territory as a civil war developed at home. The struggle for clan dominance became a war to control Somalia's resources: rich agricultural land in the south and coastal export centers.
By 1991, fighting in Mogadishu intensified: the Banadiris were living at ground zero. Their homes and businesses were ravaged in the crossfire, and as prosperous,neutral, and unarmed minority they became the victims of all parties to the war.Many Banadir families experienced severe violence, including the rape of their wives and daughters by Somali clan soldiers or bandits. Life savings and other material wealth were looted or destroyed. Those Banadir who could fled from their lands, over land or by boat to Kismayo to the south and then into Kenya. Some did not survive their flight, dying at sea or along the land route; others became victims of malaria after reaching refugee camps in Kenya (some who were allowed to resettle in the US) Many Banadir families experienced the death of a family member. By 1994, the Banadir community existed only in exile.
