UK 'warned of Somalia warfare' Somalis were described as "volatile and opportunist" people whose "deepest loyalty" was towards family and tribe, in a secret report prepared by the Joint Intelligence Committee in 1960. The committee, responsible for directing British intelligence services, said there was a possibility of violence. "Their traditional way of life is nomadic and insecure and their character consequently tends to be volatile and opportunist, quick-witted and quick tempered," noted the report, dated April 1960. It added: "Although the concept of unity between all Somalis has a great emotional appeal, the deepest loyalty is towards the family and the tribe." Somalia became a federal republic in July 1960, after Britain and Italy granted independence to their two respective sectors of the country. The report noted three key tribal groupings, the Hawiye, the Darod and the Digil-Rahanweyn. "Any successor government would be likely to be more nationalistic in character than the existing regime," the report noted. The possibility should not, however, be discounted that one of the three groups might resort to violence, and that Somalia might lapse into anarchy and tribal warfare.