Jabhatul Islamiya (JABISO) also known as the Somali Islamic Front (SIF) was an Islamist insurgent group in

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

. The group participated in the insurgency following the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in 2006 that toppled the

Islamic Courts Union The Islamic Courts Union () was a legal and political organization founded by Mogadishu-based Sharia courts during the early 2000s to combat the lawlessness stemming from the Somali Civil War. By mid-to-late 2006, the Islamic Courts had expanded ...

government. The organization aimed to resist the Ethiopian

military occupation Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling pow ...

and form an

Islamic government ''Islamic Government'' (), or ''Islamic Government: Jurist's Guardianship'' () Abrahamian, ''Khomeinism'', 1993: p.11 is a book by the Iranian cleric, Islamic jurist and revolutionary, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. First published in 1970, it ...

in Somalia. Jabhatul Islamiya first went public in December 2007, and was alleged to be the armed wing of Jama'at al-I'tisam, an offshoot of

Al-Itihaad Al-Islamiya Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI; ) was an Islamist politico-military group in Somalia. Formed in 1983 through a merger of smaller Islamist groups, the organization was the most powerful Islamic movement in the country during the late 80s and early ...

. The chairman of the organization was Ahmed Abdillahi Omar, while the chief military commander was Abdulqaadir "Kommandos", a former

Somali National Army The Somali National Army () are the ground forces component of the Somali Armed Forces. Since Somali independence in 1960, the Army fought to expand and increase Somalia's sphere of influence throughout the Horn of Africa counter to Ethiopia' ...

officer, businessman and Islamist activist. In a public statement issued in 2008, Jabhatal Islamiya declared that it had been formed in response to the full-scale Ethiopian/American invasion that had toppled the ICU and called on all resistance organizations to unite. The group reportedly had several hundred fighters under its command. Chairman Ahmed Abdillahi Omar declared that the movement collaborated with all resistance forces opposing Ethiopian forces; but ideological differences between JABISO and Al-Shabaab reportedly prevented meaningful cooperation between the two. JABISO was closely linked to United Western Somalia Liberation Front (UWSLF) which operated in the

Somali Region The Somali Region (, , ), also known as Soomaali Galbeed () and officially the Somali Regional State, is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in eastern Ethiopia. It is the largest region of Ethiopia. The state borders the Ethiopian regions ...

of Ethiopia (

Ogaden Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled ''Ogadēn''; , ) is one of the historical names used for the modern Somali Region. It is also natively referred to as Soomaali Galbeed (). The region forms the eastern portion of Ethiopia and borders Somalia ...

). During the last days of the Ethiopian military occupation in January 2009, Jabhatul Islamiya was still engaging in battles with the TFG. In February 2009 the group merged with the

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera (), is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region (Eritrea), Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the List of capital cities by altitude, sixth highest capital in the wo ...

-based wing of the

Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia The Alliance for the Re–liberation of Somalia (ARS) was a political party formed in Eritrea during September 2007 as the successor to the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) during the Ethiopian military occupation of Somalia. It served as the principal ...

, led by

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys Hassan Dahir Aweys (English: (, (; born 1935) is a Somali Islamist political figure. During the regime of Siad Barre, Aweys was a colonel in the Somali National Army and served in the 1977 Ogaden War against Ethiopia. Aweys later came to be a ...

, the

Ras Kamboni Brigade The Ras Kamboni Brigades also known as the Ras Kamboni Brigade, Muaskar Ras Kamboni or Mu'askar Ras Kamboni was an Islamist insurgent group active in Somalia (mostly in the Jubbalands), which took part in the anti-Ethiopian insurgency and late ...

, led by Sheikh Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki and a smaller group Mu'askar Anole to form

Hizbul Islam Hizbul Islam ("Islamic Party"), also known as Hizbul Islaami, Hisbi Islam, or Hezb-ul Islam, was a Somali Islamist group formed after four Islamist groups merged to oppose the new Transitional Federal Government administration of President S ...

which became the second most powerful insurgent group (after al-Shabaab) in

, which continued fighting the TFG and

AMISOM The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was a Multinational force formed by the African Union. The operation deployed to Somalia soon after the Islamic Courts Union was deposed by troops from Ethiopia during War in Somalia (2006–2009), ...

peacekeepers after

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

n withdrawal.

allafrica ''allAfrica'' is a website that aggregates and produces news primarily on the African continent about all areas of African life, politics, issues and culture. It is owned by AllAfrica Global Media, a multi-media content service provider and the l ...

br>Islamists Want to Keep Fighting Against the New Government
7 February 2009

References

2007 establishments in Somalia 2009 disestablishments in Somalia Factions in the Somali Civil War Guerrilla organizations Islamic political organizations Islamist insurgent groups Jihadist groups Organizations based in Africa designated as terrorist Rebel groups in Somalia War in Somalia (2006–2009) {{Somalia-stub