The Somali Rebellion was the beginning of the
civil war in Somalia
The Somali Civil War ( so, Dagaalkii Sokeeye ee Soomaaliya; ar, الحرب الأهلية الصومالية ) is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Bar ...
that occurred in the 1980s and early 1990s. The rebellion started in 1978 when
President Siad Barre began using his
special forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
, the "Red Berets" (''Duub Cas''), to attack clan-based dissident groups opposed to his regime. The dissidents had been becoming more powerful for nearly a decade following his abrupt switch of allegiance from the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and the disastrous 1977-78
Ogaden War
The Ogaden War, or the Ethio-Somali War (, am, የኢትዮጵያ ሶማሊያ ጦርነት, ye’ītiyop’iya somalīya t’orineti), was a military conflict fought between Somalia and Ethiopia from July 1977 to March 1978 over the Ethiopi ...
.
When Barre was injured in an automobile accident on May 23, 1986, rivals within his own government and from opposition groups became bolder and entered into open conflict. Siad Barre's flight from the capital, on January 26, 1991, marked a distinct shift in the conflict. From that date, fighting continued up until the April 1992
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
mission to Somalia,
UNOSOM I
United Nations Operation in Somalia I (UNOSOM I) was the first part of a United Nations (UN) sponsored effort to provide, facilitate, and secure humanitarian relief in Somalia, as well as to monitor the first UN-brokered ceasefire of the Somali ...
, followed two years later by
UNOSOM II
United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) was the second phase of the United Nations intervention in Somalia and took place from March 1993 until March 1995, following the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991.
UNOSOM II carried on ...
. Barre's ''collective punishment'' referred to his
clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
-based violence against what he viewed as rival clan members during the anti-Barre Somali Rebellion. The most egregious forms of clan-based violence perpetrated by the Barre dictatorship were against the
Isaaq
The Isaaq (also Isaq, Ishaak, Isaac) ( so, Reer Sheekh Isxaaq, ar, بني إسحاق, Banī Isḥāq) is a Somali clan. It is one of the major Somali clans in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory. Per ...
and
Majeerteen
The Majeerteen ( so, Majeerteen, ar, ماجرتين; also spelled Majerteen, Macherten, Majertain, or Mijurtin) is a sub-clan. It is one of the major Somali groups, with a vast traditional territory spanning 3 major regions of Somalia: Bari, ...
clans.
Crackdowns by the Barre administration
Against the Majeerteen
In the aftermath of the
Ogaden War
The Ogaden War, or the Ethio-Somali War (, am, የኢትዮጵያ ሶማሊያ ጦርነት, ye’ītiyop’iya somalīya t’orineti), was a military conflict fought between Somalia and Ethiopia from July 1977 to March 1978 over the Ethiopi ...
, a group of disgruntled army officers
attempted a coup d'état against the regime in April 1978. Their leader was Colonel Mahammad Shaykh Usmaan, a member of the
Majeerteen
The Majeerteen ( so, Majeerteen, ar, ماجرتين; also spelled Majerteen, Macherten, Majertain, or Mijurtin) is a sub-clan. It is one of the major Somali groups, with a vast traditional territory spanning 3 major regions of Somalia: Bari, ...
clan, which resides mostly in northeastern
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
. The coup failed and seventeen alleged ringleaders, including Usmaan, were summarily executed. All but one of the executed were of the
Majeerteen
The Majeerteen ( so, Majeerteen, ar, ماجرتين; also spelled Majerteen, Macherten, Majertain, or Mijurtin) is a sub-clan. It is one of the major Somali groups, with a vast traditional territory spanning 3 major regions of Somalia: Bari, ...
clan. One of the plotters, Lieutenant Colonel
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed ( so, Cabdulaahi Yuusuf Axmed, ar, عبدالله يوسف أحمد; 15 December 1934 – 23 March 2012) was a Somali politician and former colonel in the Somali National Army. He was one of the founders of the Somali ...
escaped to Ethiopia and founded an anti-Siad Barre organization initially called the Somali Salvation Front (SSF; later the
Somali Salvation Democratic Front
Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) ( so, Jabhadda Diimuqraadiga Badbaadinta Soomaaliyeed), initially known as the Democratic Front for Salvation of Somalia, was a political and paramilitary umbrella organization in Somalia. Founded in 1978 ...
, SSDF).
One of Barre's earliest forms of collective punishment targeting non-combatant clans was against the Majeerteen in 1979. Between May and June 1979, his presidential Guard, called the Red Beret, killed over 2000 Majeerteen clan members. The Umar Mahmud sub-lineage of
Majeerteen
The Majeerteen ( so, Majeerteen, ar, ماجرتين; also spelled Majerteen, Macherten, Majertain, or Mijurtin) is a sub-clan. It is one of the major Somali groups, with a vast traditional territory spanning 3 major regions of Somalia: Bari, ...
particularly became the victims of this violence. Although this violence was in response to the Majeerteen-based SSDF, Barre on the other hand began to target the entire clan.
Each subsequent attack by the SSDF resulted in collective punishment against the wider Majeerteen. This included sieges and blockades against Majeerteen-inhabited areas, closure of schools, closure of health-facilities, and the destruction of subsistence facilities such as water reservoirs and cattle. Each action by the Barre government, strengthened Majeerteen resolve against his regime.
[“My Clan Against the World”: U.S. and Coalition Forces in Somalia 1992-1994, Robert F. Baumann 2011, p 15]
The Red Berets systematically smashed the small reservoirs in the area around
Galcaio
Galkayo ( so, Gaalkacyo, ar, جالكعيو Dr Badal Kariye Ba Bsit Ma Mba & Phd, ''The Kaleidoscopic Lover: The Civil War in the Horn of Africa & My Itinerary for a Peaceful Lover'', (AuthorHouse: 2010), p.116.) which in Af- Somali translates t ...
so as to deny water to the Umar Mahamuud
Majeerteen
The Majeerteen ( so, Majeerteen, ar, ماجرتين; also spelled Majerteen, Macherten, Majertain, or Mijurtin) is a sub-clan. It is one of the major Somali groups, with a vast traditional territory spanning 3 major regions of Somalia: Bari, ...
sub-clans and their herds. In May and June 1979, more than 2,000 Umar Mahamuud, the
Majeerteen
The Majeerteen ( so, Majeerteen, ar, ماجرتين; also spelled Majerteen, Macherten, Majertain, or Mijurtin) is a sub-clan. It is one of the major Somali groups, with a vast traditional territory spanning 3 major regions of Somalia: Bari, ...
sub-clan of Colonel Ahmad, died of thirst in the waterless area northeast of Galcaio,
Garoowe
Garowe ( so, Garoowe, ar, غَاْرَّوْؤَيَ, , and
Jerriiban. In Galcaio, members of the
Victory Pioneers
The Victory Pioneers ( so, Guulwadayaal) were a neighborhood-level secret police unit active in the closing years of the Siad Barre regime in Somalia, until its overthrow in 1991. Numbering approximately 10,000, they were also known as the "Peopl ...
, the urban militia known for harassing civilians, raped large numbers of
Majeerteen
The Majeerteen ( so, Majeerteen, ar, ماجرتين; also spelled Majerteen, Macherten, Majertain, or Mijurtin) is a sub-clan. It is one of the major Somali groups, with a vast traditional territory spanning 3 major regions of Somalia: Bari, ...
women. In addition, the clan lost an estimated 50,000 camels, 10,000 cattle, and 100,000 sheep and goats.
Against the Isaaq
In April 1981, a group of Isaaq businesspeople, students, former civil servants and former politicians who lived in the United Kingdom founded the
Somali National Movement
The Somali National Movement ( so, Dhaqdhaqaaqa Wadaniga Soomaaliyeed, ar, الحركة الوطنية الصومالية) was one of the first and most important organized guerilla groups opposed to the Siad Barre regime in the 1980s to the 19 ...
in London. Initially, the aim of the various groups that merged to create the SNM was not to create an armed liberation front, but rather these groups formed as a direct response to the harsh policies enacted by the Barre regime against the Isaaq people.
By 1982 the SNM transferred their headquarters to
Dire Dawa
Dire Dawa ( am, ድሬዳዋ, om, Dirree Dhawaa, 3=Place of Remedy; so, Diridhaba, meaning "where Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", ar, ديري داوا,) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Oromia and Somali Re ...
in Ethiopia, as both Somalia and Ethiopia at the time offered safe havens of operation for resistance groups against each other. From there the SNM successfully launched a guerrilla war against the Barre regime through incursions and
hit and run
In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions.
Additional obligation
In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...
operations on army positions within Isaaq territories before returning to Ethiopia.
The SNM continued this pattern of attacks from 1982 and throughout the 1980s, at a time the Ogaden Somalis (some of whom were recruited refugees) made up the bulk of Barre's armed forces accused of committing acts of genocide against the Isaaq people of the north.
A policy letter written by Barre's son-in-law and viceroy in the north General
Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan
Major General Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan ( so, Maxamed Siciid Xirsi Moorgan, ar, محمد سعيد حيرسي مورغان), also known as General Morgan or Colonel Morgan, is a Somali military and faction leader. He was the son-in-law of Siad ...
known as The Morgan Report formed the basis of the Barre regime's retaliation against the Isaaq following a successful SNM attack on Hargeisa and Burao. The policy letter provided “implemented and recommended measures” for a “final solution” to Somalia's “Isaaq problem”.
According to Rebecca Richards, a systematic state violence that followed was linked to the Barre government's belief that SNM attacks were receiving assistance from the Ethiopian government. The harsh reprisals, widespread bombing and burning of villages by Barre regime followed every time there was an attack by SNM believed to be hiding in Ethiopia.
The regime violence in the north and northwest was disproportionate, affected many communities, particularly Isaaq. The number of civilian deaths in this massacre is estimated to be between 50,000-100,000 according to various sources, whilst local reports estimate the total civilian deaths to be upwards of 200,000 Isaaq civilians. The government attack included the levelling and complete destruction of the second and third largest cities in Somalia,
Hargeisa
Hargeisa (; so, Hargeysa, ar, هرجيسا) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland. It is located in the Maroodi Jeex region of the Horn of Africa. It succeeded Burco as the capital of the British Somaliland Protector ...
(which was 90 per cent destroyed) and
Burao
Burao, also spelt Bur'o or Bur'ao (; so, Burco, , ar, برعو) is the capital of the Togdheer region and the second largest city in Somaliland. Burao was also the third largest city of Somalia. Burao was the site of the declaration of an in ...
(70 per cent destroyed) respectively through a campaign of aerial bombardment, and had caused 400,000 Somalis
(primarily of the Isaaq clan) to flee their land and cross the border to Hartasheikh in Ethiopia as refugees, creating the world's largest refugee camp then (1988), with another 400,000 being internally displaced.
A
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
investigation concluded that the Barre regime's killing of Isaaq civilians was a genocide, and that the crime of genocide was "conceived, planned and perpetrated by the Somali government against the Isaaq people".
Against the Hawiye
The
Hawiye
The Hawiye ( so, Hawiye, ar, بنو هوية, it, Hauija) is the largest Somali clan family. Members of this clan traditionally inhabit central and southern Somalia, Somaliland, Ethiopia ( Somali, Harar, Oromia and Afar regions) and the Nor ...
moved quickly to occupy the south portion of Somalia. The capital of Mogadishu is located in the country of the
Abgaal
Abgaal (Somali: Abgaal, Arabic: أبغال) is a subclan of the Hawiye and the even larger Samaale clan. It is one of the major Somali clans and has produced many prominent historical Somali figures including 3 presidents, and the father of t ...
subclan of Hawiye. Since the independence era, the Hawiye tribe had occupied important administrative positions in the bureaucracy and in the top army command. However, in the late 1980s disaffection with the regime set in among the Hawiye, who felt increasingly marginalized by the Siad Barre regime.
Taisier M. Ali states that Barre assuaged the Majeerteen, and targeted other groups like the
Hawiye
The Hawiye ( so, Hawiye, ar, بنو هوية, it, Hauija) is the largest Somali clan family. Members of this clan traditionally inhabit central and southern Somalia, Somaliland, Ethiopia ( Somali, Harar, Oromia and Afar regions) and the Nor ...
. According to Ali, "with funds and clan appeals, he
arrewas able to entice the bulk of SSDF fighters to return from Ethiopia and participate in his genocidal wars against the Isaaq in the north and later against the Hawiye in the South, including Mogadisho". According to Mohamed Haji Ingiriis, the vicious atrocities during the reign of Barre were not an isolated event nor unusual in Somalia's history. Barre also targeted the Hawiye.
Faced with saboteurs by day and sniper fire by night, Siad Barre ordered remaining units of the badly demoralized
Red Berets
The red beret is a military beret worn by many military, paramilitary, commando, and police forces and should not be confused with the maroon beret worn by airborne troops all around the world.
Military police
Red berets are worn by the military p ...
to kill civilians on a large scale. By 1989 torture and killing became the order of the day in Mogadishu.
The Red Berets killed 450 Muslims demonstrating against the arrest of their spiritual leaders. More than 2,000 were seriously injured. The next day, forty-seven people, mainly from the Isaaq clan, were taken to Jasiira Beach west of the city and summarily executed. The July mass killings prompted a shift in United States policy as the United States began to distance itself from Siad Barre.
With the loss of United States support, the regime grew more desperate. An anti-Siad Barre demonstration on July 6, 1990, at a soccer match in the main stadium deteriorated into a riot, causing Siad Barre's bodyguard to panic and open fire on the demonstrators. At least sixty-five people were killed. A week later, while the city reeled from the impact of what came to be called the Stadia Corna Affair, Siad Barre sentenced to death 46 prominent members of the Manifesto Group, a body of 114 notables who had signed a petition in May calling for elections and improved human rights. During the
show trial
A show trial is a public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt or innocence of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal the presentation of both the accusation and the verdict to the public so th ...
that resulted in the death sentences, demonstrators surrounded the court and activity in the city came to a virtual halt. On July 13, a shaken Siad Barre dropped the charges against the accused. As the city celebrated victory, Siad Barre, conceding defeat for the first time in twenty years, retreated into his bunker at the military barracks near the airport.
The most shocking and gruesome revenge Siad Barre took against the
Hawiye
The Hawiye ( so, Hawiye, ar, بنو هوية, it, Hauija) is the largest Somali clan family. Members of this clan traditionally inhabit central and southern Somalia, Somaliland, Ethiopia ( Somali, Harar, Oromia and Afar regions) and the Nor ...
, in particular the Hawadle (Xawadle) sub-clan was the massacre he ordered in January 1991, just before he escaped Mogadishu for his clan strongholds in the deep south of Somalia. It is estimated that over 6,000 individuals died in the massacre of Beledweyne, including women and children. This was a major turning point for the USC and further fueled the need to overthrow Siad Barre's regime - eventually proving successful as he was overthrown in late January. This incident in
Beledweyne
Beledweyne ( so, Beledweyne, ar, بلد وين, it, Belet Uen) is a city in central Somalia. Beledweyne District is the capital city of the Hiran region.
The city is situated in the Shebelle Valley riverine near the Ethiopian border, 210 miles ...
was the major cause for clan tensions as Siad Barre's militias mainly consisted of
Marehan
The Marehan ( so, Mareexaan, ar, مريحان) is a Somali sub-clan, which is part of one of the largest Somali clan families, the Darod. The clan is one of the largest constituent sub-clans of the Darod. The majority of the Marehan live in the ...
,
Ogaden
Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled ''Ogadēn''; so, Ogaadeen, am, ውጋዴ/ውጋዴን) is one of the historical names given to the modern Somali Region, the territory comprising the eastern portion of Ethiopia formerly part of the Harargh ...
and
Majeerteen
The Majeerteen ( so, Majeerteen, ar, ماجرتين; also spelled Majerteen, Macherten, Majertain, or Mijurtin) is a sub-clan. It is one of the major Somali groups, with a vast traditional territory spanning 3 major regions of Somalia: Bari, ...
militias, led by General Morgan (
Majeerteen
The Majeerteen ( so, Majeerteen, ar, ماجرتين; also spelled Majerteen, Macherten, Majertain, or Mijurtin) is a sub-clan. It is one of the major Somali groups, with a vast traditional territory spanning 3 major regions of Somalia: Bari, ...
) - who had caused many civilian deaths towards Isaaq's (SNM) by sending bombers to attack the northern cities, including
Hargeisa
Hargeisa (; so, Hargeysa, ar, هرجيسا) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland. It is located in the Maroodi Jeex region of the Horn of Africa. It succeeded Burco as the capital of the British Somaliland Protector ...
(
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
's second largest city).
In response to mutinies by Hawiye soldiers in October 1989, the Red Berets began attacking
Hawiye
The Hawiye ( so, Hawiye, ar, بنو هوية, it, Hauija) is the largest Somali clan family. Members of this clan traditionally inhabit central and southern Somalia, Somaliland, Ethiopia ( Somali, Harar, Oromia and Afar regions) and the Nor ...
civilians. According to history professor Robert F. Baumann, this shift of antagonism towards to Hawiye was a major military blunder since Barre's stronghold happened to be in Mogadishu, whose environs are majority Hawiye. These actions by Barre sealed his fate, as by 1990 the predominantly Hawiye USC (United Somali Congress) military group had beset the capital of Mogadishu.
Against Ogaden
The bulk of Darood refugees who fled the Ethiopia-Somalia war were Ogaden.
Barre's hostility towards the Ogaden was in part derived from the huge influx of their clan members in the aftermath of war with Ethiopia, which resulted in a swelling of their numbers. This surge in their population resulted in what he viewed as an undue influence, with a change in the balance of power away from his own
Marehan
The Marehan ( so, Mareexaan, ar, مريحان) is a Somali sub-clan, which is part of one of the largest Somali clan families, the Darod. The clan is one of the largest constituent sub-clans of the Darod. The majority of the Marehan live in the ...
clan towards the Ogaden clan. This resulted in Barre dismissing several military officers who were of Ogaden lineage. The friction escalated when Barre purged the minister of defense, Aden Gabiyo from office, who was of Ogaden lineage. In May 1989, this culminated into a revolt by Ogaden soldiers stationed in Kismaayo, the formation of an anti-Barre military faction formed of Ogaden clansmen called SPM (Somali Patriotic Movement) and the defection of Ogaden colonel Omar Jess.
Somaliland and Puntland
In 1991, the
Somali National Movement
The Somali National Movement ( so, Dhaqdhaqaaqa Wadaniga Soomaaliyeed, ar, الحركة الوطنية الصومالية) was one of the first and most important organized guerilla groups opposed to the Siad Barre regime in the 1980s to the 19 ...
declared the northwestern portion of the country independent. Although internationally
recognised as an
autonomous region
An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy ...
of Somalia,
Somaliland
Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...
, as with neighboring
Puntland
Puntland ( so, Puntland, ar, أرض البنط, it, Terra di Punt or ''Paese di Punt''), officially the Puntland State of Somalia ( so, Dowlad Goboleedka Puntland ee Soomaaliya, ar, ولاية أرض البنط الصومالية), is a F ...
, has remained relatively peaceful.
References
Further reading
The Fall of Siad Barre and the Descent into Civil WarNations Encyclopedia
OnWar.com
{{Authority control
1980s in Somalia
20th-century conflicts
Civil wars involving the states and peoples of Africa
Civil wars post-1945
Conflicts in 1986
Conflicts in 1987
Conflicts in 1988
Conflicts in 1989
Conflicts in 1990
Conflicts in 1991
Military history of Somalia
Revolutions of 1989
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