In these conditions of Somali anger and despair it seemed at first most likely that the Chinese Peoples’ Republic, which had already shown considerable interest in Somali affairs and which had no conflicting commitments in Ethiopia, would proffer support. The Prime Minister had already visited China, and also India, in the middle of the year, no doubt with these matters very much in mind, and trade and aid agreements had been signed with both countries. Thus it seemed likely that these negotiations would be followed up by some new and striking manifestation of Chinese help which, in the context of East-West relations, might restore the Mogadishu government’s flagging prestige. Most unexpectedly, however, it was not from this quarter but from Russia, that Dr ‘Abd ar-Rashid found the means by which he hoped to recapture popular support. In November 1963 it was officially announced that the Republic had refused an offer of Western military assistance valued at almost £6-1/2 million in favour of Russian military aid to the tune of nearly £11 million.

I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Som…, loc. 498