Question

Canada's reputation as an international peacekeeper was marred by scandals over the behavior of canadian troops in _______.

Answer 1

The answer is Somalia and Bosnia

In 1992, Canadian military troops were sent to Somalia in one of their first UN peacekeeping missions.

Stationed near the town of Belet Huen, the military was successful in providing peace and security in the area for some time.

However, due to extreme poverty in the region, there were reports of the local population trying to steal supplies from the Canadian Military camp.

Eventually, the troops were given orders to apprehend and abuse these intruders.

Eventually, one teenage boy Shidane Arone was caught, tortured and eventually killed by the Canadian troops.

This was known as the 'Somalian Affair' and quickly shocked Canadians back home. Support for the troops, especially for foreign interventions, quickly dwindled in Canada after this.


The Canadian involvement in the Serbo/Bosnian/Croatian war next year was also seen as a failure. It was one of the first times that the Canadian troops came under heavy fire and were involved in a Skirmish.

Bosnia was seen as dangerous and the inexperience of the Canadian troops became quite clear.