From November 1991, there had been heavy fighting in the Somali capital of Mogadishu between armed elements allied to General Mohamed Farah Aidid, or to Ali Mohamed Mahdi, the appointed "interim President", and other factions.
In December 1992, after the situation in Somalia further deteriorates, the UN Security Council authorizes Member States to form the Unified Task Force (UNITAF) to establish a safe environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
United States President George H. W. Bush, scheduled to leave office in January, responds to Security Council resolution 794 (1992) with a decision on 4 December to initiate Operation Restore Hope, under which the United States would assume the unified command of the new operation.
On December 9th, 1992 the United States Marines land in Mogadishu and quickly establish an expeditionary infrastructure to facilitate security and the delivery of food to the starving Somalis.
On December 11th, the Marines establish a Civil Military Operations Center (CMOC) and co-locate it with the UN's Humanitarian Operations Center (HOC).
30,000 troops are eventually involved in this seemingly well-intentioned mission.
(Its violent outcome, in October 1993, will eventually result in US suspicions of hidden meddling by bin Laden.)