The Somali Rebellion was the start of the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War (; ) is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed ...

that began in the 1970s and resulted in the collapse of the

Somali Democratic Republic The Somali Democratic Republic (; , ; ) was a socialist state in Somalia that existed from 1969 to 1991. Established in October 1969, the Somali Democratic Republic emerged following a 1969 Somali coup d'état, coup d'état led by Major General ...

in 1991. The rebellion effectively began in 1978 following a failed coup d’état and President Siad Barre began using his

special forces Special forces or 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 A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...

groups opposed to his regime. Backed by Ethiopia, the two earliest rebel factions, the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) and the

Somali National Movement The Somali National Movement (, ) was one of the first and most important Guerrilla warfare, organized guerilla groups and Mujahideen groups that opposed the Siad Barre regime in the 1980s to the 1990s, as well as being the main anti-government f ...

(SNM) began attacks against government forces during the early 1980s. The SSDF assaults culminated in a joint invasion with Ethiopian troops in 1982, which stalemated into a border war and later resulted in the decline of the SSDF. The SNM continued operating and carrying out insurgent attacks on the government. During the late 1980s other rebel organizations proliferated throughout the country. When Barre was injured in an automobile accident on May 23, 1986, rivals within his own government and from opposition groups became bolder. The final years of President Siad Barre's rule were marked by growing armed conflict across Somalia. In the north, the SNM was active, while the SSDF operated in the northeast. The

United Somali Congress The United Somali Congress (USC, ) was one of the major rebel organizations in Somalia. Formed in 1989, it played a leading role in the ouster of the government of Siad Barre in 1991. Following infighting, the USC later splintered into two win ...

(USC) gained ground in the central regions, and in the south, the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM) led efforts against the regime. Despite their resistance, these opposition fronts failed to offer a unified or viable political alternative after the central government fell. As Barre's regime weakened in its last two years, government institutions collapsed, and clan cohesion disintegrated. The state went bankrupt as taxes went unpaid and foreign aid was withdrawn. The July 1989 riots and massacres brought large scale violence to

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

for the first time, intensifying the rebellion. By late 1990, the country was on the brink of full-scale civil war, with the

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

routed the Somali army in

Mudug Mudug () is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in north-central Somalia. The population of Mudug is 131,455 as of 2005. Overview Physiographically, Mudug is bordered to the west by Ethiopia, to the north and south by the Somali regions of Nu ...

, Galgadud, and Hiiraan. After a battle between the regime and rebels in Mogadishu, the

collapsed in January 1991, marking the sunset of the

Background

The defeat of the Somali military at the hands of Cuban/Ethiopian forces during the

Ogaden War The Ogaden War, also known as the Ethio-Somali War (, ), was a military conflict between Somali Democratic Republic, Somalia and derg, Ethiopia fought from July 1977 to March 1978 over control of the sovereignty of the Ogaden region. Somalia ...

of 1977-78 brought to the surface opposition elements within the armed forces. Another significant consequence of the war was the massive influx of refugees from the

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 ...

into Somalia, estimated at over a million. At the end of 1978 the first major outflow of refugees numbering in the hundreds of thousands headed for Somalia, and were bombed and strafed during the exodus by the Ethiopian military. This placed immense strain on the Somali Democratic Republic's (SDR) frail economy, forcing the government to increasingly rely on foreign aid to function. Thousands of

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

Somalis were also driven from the region, bringing much of their livestock, which led to disastrous ecological impacts as Somalia's limited grazing land became overburdened. The first serious postwar challenge to the regime came during an attempted coup in April 1978. The officers were primarily from the

Majeerteen The Majeerteen, (, ; also spelled Majerteen, Macherten, Majertain, or Mijurtin) alternately known as Mohammed Harti, are a Somali sub-clan part of the Harti branch of the Darod, Darod clan. Traditionally, they inhabit extensive territories in ...

clan, and many of the coup plotters fled to

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 ...

after the Somali government had put down the insurrection. During the Ogaden War, Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf had served as a commander in the Somali National Army. After the war he deserted the army, and helped lead the failed 1978 coup attempt following which he had immediately fled to Ethiopia. In response to the coup, harsh reprisals were carried out by the government on the Majeerteen clan.

Rebellion

In Ethiopia, Abdullahi Yusuf setup base for a new rebel organization called the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) which he led and soon after began fighting with Ethiopian forces against the Somali army. The SSDF possessed little autonomy over Ethiopian security forces, as it was 'created, organized, trained and financed by Ethiopia'. With the formation of the SSDF in Ethiopia, the era of armed opposition against the Barre regime had begun. During October 1980, President Siad declared a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

and reinstated the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC).

Rise and decline of SSDF

With Ethiopian assistance, the SSDF began to launch guerilla attacks across the border on Somali army bases and civilian targets. The Ethiopians began using the SSDF to help hunt down Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) fighters. During major Ethiopian military operations in 1980 that aimed to crush the WSLF, the SSDF was used to attack WSLF camps within Somalia. In response to rising dissent, the Somali government violently suppressed opposition movements and clans perceived to be a threat with the military and elite security forces. The government initiated a harsh policies with the aim of depriving the rebels of political and social support. Whenever the SSDF launched attacks, the regime retaliated by rounding up hundreds of Majerteen officers and purging the civil service.

1982 Border War

The Ethiopian army intended to us the Somali Salvation Democratic Front to overthrow Barre and install a friendly regime. The guerrillas were trained by Ethiopian officers and during the 1982 invasion of Somalia, SSDF forces were directly integrated into much larger Ethiopian army units. In late June 1982, 15,000 Ethiopian army troops and thousands of SSDF rebels invaded Somalia in the Hiran and

region. The offensives initially aimed for Galkayo in the north-east, and

Beledweyne Beledweyne (, ) 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 (345 km) north of Mogadishu. Beledweyne ...

in central Somalia. According to

Gérard Prunier Gérard Prunier (born 14 October 1942 in Paris ) is a French academic, historian, and consultant. He specializes in African history and affairs —particularly the Horn of Africa and the African Great Lakes regions. Biography Prunier received a P ...

, "The plan was to cut Somalia into two by driving the troops all the way to the ocean, but the plan backfired." In spite of losses taken four years earlier during 1978 from the Ethiopian-Cuban counter offensive during the

, the Somali army had regrouped and the invasion led to a large increase in volunteers joining the army. The Ethiopian/SSDF attack had played out to Barres advantage, as his declining regime found a significant upsurge in support. The Ethiopian and SSDF forces never reached their objectives of Galkayo and

, but were instead halted to a stalemate at border towns of Balanbale and Galdogob.

SSDF decline

During 1982, the Barre regime successfully split the SSDF and most its members surrendered to the government following an amnesty and payment offer. By 1983 the bulk of the SSDF had rejoined the regime. Irritated by this development, the Ethiopian government put the head of the SSDF Abdullahi Yusuf in jail, where he remained until the Fall of the Derg regime in 1991. During SSDF internal fighting during 1983 and 1984, Ethiopian security forces entered their camps and arrested the rebels central committee members. After the rebels had no longer become useful to Mengistu, he had members of the organization killed, imprisoned or dispersed. The SSDF did not recover as an organization until relations with Ethiopia normalized during the tenure of Meles Zenawi.

Formation of SNM and northern war

In April 1981, a group of

Isaaq The Isaaq (, , ''Banu Ishaq'') is a major Somali clans, Somali clan. It is one of the largest Somali clan families in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory. The Isaaq people claim in a traditional legend ...

businesspeople, students, former civil servants and former politicians who lived in the United Kingdom founded the

(SNM( 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 (; , meaning"where the Dir (clan), Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", , Harari language, Harari: ድሬዳዋ, lit. "Plain of Medicine"; ) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Somali Region and Oromia, Oromo borde ...

, 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 Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrorism ...

against the Barre regime through incursions and

hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the criminal 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 ma ...

operations on army positions in the northern Isaaq territories before returning to Ethiopia.

Crackdowns by the Barre administration

Against the Majeerteen

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

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. The Red Berets systematically smashed the small reservoirs in the area around Galkayo so as to deny water to the Umar Mahamuud

sub-clans and their herds. In May and June 1979, more than 2,000 Umar Mahamuud, the

sub-clan of Colonel Ahmad, died of thirst in the waterless area northeast of Galkayo,

Garoowe Garowe (, ,Jariban. In Galkayo, members of the Victory Pioneers, the urban militia known for harassing civilians, raped large numbers of

women. In addition, the clan lost an estimated 50,000 camels, 10,000 cattle, and 100,000 sheep and goats.

Against the Isaaq

According to Rebecca Richards, a systematic

state violence State violence is the use of force, intimidation, or oppression by a government against its citizens. State violence can happen through law enforcement or military force, as well as through other branches of government and bureaucracy. State violen ...

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 and 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 ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland, a ''List of states with limited recognition, de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still considered internationally to be part of Somalia. It is also th ...

(which was 90 per cent destroyed) and

Burao Burao, also spelt Bur'o or Bur'ao (; , , ), is the capital of the Togdheer region and the second largest city in Somaliland. Burao was the site of the Somaliland Declaration of Independence, declaration of an independent Somaliland on 18 May 19 ...

(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 policy letter written by Barre's son-in-law and viceroy in the north General Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan 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”. A

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

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 (; ) are one of the principal and largest of the Somali clans, tracing their lineage back to Sheikh Ahmed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Uthman, also known as Sheikh Hawiye, the eponymous figure of the clan. They are considered the earliest do ...

moved quickly to occupy the south portion of Somalia. The capital of

is located in the territory of the

Abgaal The Abgaal (Somali language, Somali: Abgaal; Arabic: أبگال) are a Somali clan, Somali sub-clan of the Hawiye and the even larger Samaale clan. This prominent Somali clan, despite being one of the youngest in Somalia, is one of the most ...

and Murusade subclans 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. A number of Hawiye elites had joined the earlier SODAF, SSDF and the SNM movements before converging to form their own branch in the very late 80s, the

. Taisier M. Ali states that Barre assuaged the Majeerteen, and targeted other groups like the

. 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 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 guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...

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

, in particular the Hawadle 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

, 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

was the major cause for clan tensions as Siad Barre's militias mainly consisted of

Marehan The Marehan (, ) is a Somali clan, which is part of one of the largest Somali clan families, the Darod. The clan are the largest tribe in the Jubaland state and make the majority of the Gedo, Middle Juba and Lower Juba states, some major cities ...

and

militias, led by General Morgan (

) - who had caused many civilian deaths towards Isaaq's (SNM) by sending bombers to attack the northern cities, including

(

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 ...

's second largest city). In response to mutinies by Hawiye soldiers in October 1989, the Red Berets began attacking

civilians. According to history professor Robert F. Baumann in his book 'My Clan Against The World: US And Coalition Forces In Somalia, 1992-1994', this shift of antagonism towards the 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 (

) military group had beset the capital of Mogadishu.

Against Ogaden

The bulk of the Darood clan refugees who fled the Ethiopia-Somalia war were of the

subclan. 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

subclan towards the Ogaden subclan. 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 the Ogaden subclan. 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 In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

of Ogaden colonel Omar Jess.

Fall of Siad Barre: December 1990–January 1991

In early December 1990, the

held positions about 30 km northeast of the capital. Widespread violence was reported in Mogadishu, even before the main assault into the city, as a large portion of Mogadishu's population was armed during the period. On 29 December 1990, some of Barre's armed men, organized into gangs for looting, seized large amounts of money from a Hawiye-owned store- armed men from many factions rushed to the scene, and soon, the forces of the United Somali Congress were battling with government forces in Mogadishu. The USC claimed to hold "99% of Mogadishu" by 31 December, saying that fighting was ongoing around the palace and the airport, and claimed to control the capital on January 1, but this was denied by government officials, who claimed that they were still controlling the city, while also claiming that fighting was restricted in size. Mohamed Hawadle Madar was quoted to have said that the rebels had been beaten back from an assault into Wardigley district, where the palace is located. The rebels claimed to have captured the cities' radio station, Radio Mogadishu, by January 2, but a government broadcast from the station disproved this; by this time, the government was generally known to have controlled central Mogadishu. The Somali rebels rejected attempts by Siad Barre to introduce a ceasefire, and only allowed foreign military evacuations under the watch of the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

, which the Red Cross agreed to. A USC spokesman claimed that 10,000 reinforcements were arriving to Mogadishu to oust the Somali government. On 22 January, a ceasefire was implemented, according to Somali government radio, but days later, on 26 January, rebels overran the last government defenses at the Mogadishu Airport and the

Presidential Palace A presidential palace is the official residence of the president in some countries. Some presidential palaces were once the official residences to monarchs in former monarchies that were preserved during those states' transition into republics. ...

and ousted Siad Barre, ending his 21-year rule. It was rumored that he had fled in a tank. The rebels announced their victory on the formerly government-operated radio station.

Somaliland and Puntland

In 1991, the

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, zone, entity, unit, region, subdivision, province, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or territory, internal territory of a sovereign state that has ...

of Somalia,

Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...

, as with neighboring

Puntland Puntland is an autonomous state that considers itself to be part of Somalia, despite not accepting the legitimacy of Somalia's current governing administration. It was formed in 1998, and was a federal member state of Somalia from its fou ...

, has remained relatively peaceful.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Authority control 1970s in Somalia 1980s in Somalia Civil wars involving the states and peoples of Africa Civil wars of the 20th century Cold War rebellions Conflicts in 1978 Conflicts in 1979 Conflicts in 1980 Conflicts in 1981 Conflicts in 1982 Conflicts in 1983 Conflicts in 1984 Conflicts in 1985 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 *