The Somali Youth League (SYL) was a Somali nationalist political party which was active from 1943 to 1969. It was founded during World War II, and it had the goal of unifying all Somali territories, creating opportunities for universal modern education, developing the Somali language, safeguarding Somali interests, and opposing the restoration of Italian colonial rule. The SYL enjoyed considerable popular support from northerners, and it dominated the government of an independent Somalia from 1956 to 1969, when the Marxist general Siad Barre overthrew the government in a coup and renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic. Barre banned political parties, leading to the Somali Youth League's dissolution.
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