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 and was the remaining option. On the morning of 5 January, a 60-person Marine and Navy SEAL security detail was dispatched from Guam aboard two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters to secure the embassy and prepare for the main evacuation. The two helicopters returned to Guam with the first 61 evacuees. Throughout the day, foreign diplomats and civilians sought refuge at the embassy. Four waves of five CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters each evacuated the embassy compound shortly after midnight on 6 January. The evacuees were transported to Muscat, Oman, where they disembarked on 11 January. In total, Operation Eastern Exit evacuated 281 (with a 282nd born aboard ship) diplomats and civilians from 30 countries, including 12 heads of missions (eight ambassadors and four chargés d'affaires). Background In the late 1980s, there was increasing rebellion against the rule of Somali President Siad Barre, a military dictator who maintained tight control of power and had a record of human rights abuses. By 1990, what began as civil disobedience evolved into a civil war, with several militias organized to overthrow the central government. In July 1989, the embassy moved to a new, compound, from the previous embassy and James K. Bishop was appointed as the United States' ambassador to Somalia. Ambassador Bishop had significant experience in crisis management at US embassies. In 1967, he was at the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon when the Six-Day War erupted. About 3,600 Americans were evacuated in 33 hours; Bishop was one of 26 diplomats and soldiers that remained in the city. As deputy assistant secretary of state for Africa from 1981–87, Bishop chaired several task forces for crises and gained experience in the State Department's operations center as evacuations were carried out during several coups d'etat. During his previous