Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012
The Somalia affair: Canadian troops in Beledweyne, 1993
About 1,400 Canadian troops, mostly of the Canadian Airborne Regiment, were posted to Beledweyne in December 1992 under the UN-backed mission. On 4 March 1993 soldiers shot two fleeing Somalis, killing Achmed Aruush, and on 16 March 1993 they tortured to death a 16-year-old, Shidane Abukar Arone, and photographed it. One soldier was convicted of manslaughter and torture. Canada disbanded the regiment in 1995, and a public inquiry, cut short in 1996, reported in 1997 that many senior officers had been evasive or deceptive.
In short
The "Somalia affair" is the name used in Canada for the killings of Somali civilians by Canadian soldiers in Beledweyne in 1993 and the scandal that followed. This page records what the sources report. The Belgian and Italian cases are in Belgian and Italian troops in Somalia, 1993. The wider mission is covered in The UN intervention, 1992 to 1995 and UNOSOM I.
Deployment
In December 1992 about 1,400 Canadian troops, mostly of the Canadian Airborne Regiment, arrived in Beledweyne (Belet Huen) as part of the UN-backed humanitarian mission (Richard Foot, The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2018).
The killings
- 4 March 1993. Soldiers set a trap with food and water near the camp's perimeter fence and shot two Somalis in the back as they fled, killing Achmed Aruush (The Canadian Encyclopedia).
- 16 March 1993. Shidane Abukar Arone, 16, was caught inside the base. He was tortured for hours and was dead shortly after midnight. His abusers took photographs, and soldiers who heard his screams did not step in (The Canadian Encyclopedia; Ali Amad, VICE, 14 March 2018).
VICE reported that six Somalis were killed by Canadian soldiers during the deployment (VICE, 2018).
Trials
Master Corporal Clayton Matchee was found hanging in his cell after his arrest, was left brain-damaged, and was found unfit to stand trial. Private Kyle Brown was convicted of manslaughter and torture, sentenced to five years and dismissed from the forces; he was released after less than two years. Another soldier pleaded guilty to negligent performance of duty, and Lieutenant Colonel Carol Mathieu was acquitted of minor charges. No one else was convicted over the deaths of Arone or Aruush (The Canadian Encyclopedia). VICE reported that Canada compensated Arone's clan with the value of 100 camels, about US$15,000, and that his parents' lawsuit for $5 million was dismissed in 1999 (VICE, 2018).
Disbandment and inquiry
After videos of racist remarks and hazing in the regiment came out, Defence Minister David Collenette disbanded the Canadian Airborne Regiment in 1995. He said in 2020: "if you didn't think you could really change the culture, then you needed to take a fresh start" (The Guardian via Yahoo News, 2 December 2020).
A public inquiry led by Federal Court judge Gilles Létourneau held hearings from late 1995. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien ended the hearings at the end of 1996, before the inquiry had heard testimony on Arone's death. Its report, released in 1997, found that officers had tampered with documents and spoke of "evasion and deception, which in our view were apparent with many of the senior officers who testified before us" (The Canadian Encyclopedia; VICE, 2018).
Sources differ
- How many Somalis were killed. The Canadian Encyclopedia describes the two deaths in March 1993; VICE reported six deaths during the deployment.
- The inquiry's recommendations. 157 (The Canadian Encyclopedia) or 100 (VICE).
Read the primary sources yourself
Sources
- Richard Foot, The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2018 · thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
- Ali Amad, VICE, 14 March 2018 · vice.com
- The Guardian via Yahoo News, 2 December 2020 · uk.news.yahoo.com
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Where it happened
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- The Somali Civil WarThe Somali Civil War from the 1980s to now: the rebel fronts, the fall of Siad Barre, the split of Mogadishu, famine, the UN years, the Islamic Courts and al-Shabaab.
- The Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), 2001–2004The SRRC, the Ethiopian-hosted alliance against Somalia's Arta government: its founding in 2001, its refusal to recognise the TNG, its fighting, and its part in the Kenya talks.
- The Burao conference and Somaliland's declaration, May 1991The Burao conference of 1991 and the declaration of the Republic of Somaliland: who attended, what was decided, the first government, and the first year after.
- The Transitional Federal Parliament, 2004–2012Somalia's Transitional Federal Parliament from 2004 to 2012: how members were chosen by clan, the first sessions in Nairobi and Baidoa, the 2009 expansion, the Kampala Accord and the handover.
- UNOSOM I, 1992–1993: the first UN operation in SomaliaUNOSOM I, April 1992 to March 1993: the Mogadishu ceasefire, the observers and the Pakistani battalion, the famine, the looting of aid, and the turn to UNITAF.
- The UN and US intervention, 1992–1995: UNOSOM and UNITAFUNOSOM I and II and the US-led UNITAF, 1992–1995: the famine, the missions, the 5 June and 3 October 1993 battles, the civilian toll, and the withdrawal.