Operation Eastern Exit was the codename given to the military evacuation of the United States embassy in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, in January 1991. In late December 1990, violence quickly enveloped the city as armed militants began clashing with government soldiers. On 1 January 1991, the US Ambassador to Somalia, James Keough Bishop, contacted the Department of State requesting an evacuation of the embassy, which was approved the following day. United States Central Command began planning and mobilizing forces that evening. The initial plan was to evacuate with a military transport plane through the Mogadishu International Airport, but this was later abandoned. A helicopter evacuation via the USS Guam and USS Trenton was the remaining option.
President of Somalia, Major General Siad Barre
USS Guam
USS Trenton
Embassy compound viewed in 1992, after it was re-occupied to serve as headquarters for Operation Restore Hope. The walled chancery (foreground) is most prominent, but it was further located within the walled embassy compound (note wall in upper left, top). The administrative office building (top right) and Marine House (top, right of center) are visible. The helicopter landing zone was between the chancery and Marine House, above the roundabout.
Embassy of the United States, Mogadishu
The Embassy of the United States of America to Somalia is a diplomatic mission of the United States in Mogadishu, Somalia from 1960 to 1991. In 1957, the US opened a consulate-general in Mogadishu—the capital of the Trust Territory of Somalia, a UN trusteeship under Italian administration. The consulate was upgraded to embassy status in July 1960, when the US recognized Somalia's independence and appointed an ambassador. The embassy served to counter Soviet influence during the Cold War and also served as a base for the United States Agency for International Development, which had a large presence in the country. In 1989, the embassy moved from a dilapidated building in central Mogadishu to a new compound on the outskirts of the city.
The former embassy compound in 1992, shortly after it was assigned as the headquarters for US personnel within UNITAF.
Left side of the embassy compound in December 1992. The chancery, with its own wall, is in the foreground with the USIS building (bottom right). The JAO building is barely visible in the upper right, with the Marine House to its left (top, right of center). The golf course was beyond the wall in the upper left. When this photo was taken, the embassy compound was being cleared to serve as UNITAF headquarters.
US Navy Seabees within the Unified Task Force constructing a kitchen and dining facility at the US Embassy compound in Mogadishu
