Operation Restore Hope was an American military operation with the support of the United Nations that was formed to deliver humanitarian aid and restore order to the African nation of Somalia, then suffering from severe famine, anarchy, and domination by a number of warlords following the collapse of Siad Barre's Marxist government and the outbreak of the Somali Civil War. On January 30, 1993, Private First Class Domingo Arroyo, Jr., a Marine from Puerto Rico, became the first of the 44 American soldiers killed during the operation. His patrol was ambushed near Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, by forces controlled by Somali warlords.