Somaliland War of Independence
1981–1991 conflict part of Somali Civil War / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Somaliland War of Independence[29][30] (Somali: Dagaalkii Xoraynta Soomaaliland, lit. 'Somaliland Liberation War') was a rebellion waged by the Somali National Movement (SNM) against the ruling military junta in Somalia led by General Siad Barre lasting from its founding on 6 April 1981 and ended on 18 May 1991 when the SNM declared what was then northern Somalia independent as the Republic of Somaliland. The conflict served as the main theater of the larger Somali Rebellion that started in 1978. The conflict was in response to the harsh policies enacted by the Barre regime against the main clan family in Somaliland, the Isaaq, including a declaration of economic warfare on the clan-family.[31] These harsh policies were put into effect shortly after the conclusion of the disastrous Ogaden War in 1978.
Somaliland War of Independence | |||||||||
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Part of the Somali Civil War, the Cold War and the conflicts in the Horn of Africa | |||||||||
Clockwise from top: Military situation during the Somaliland War of Independence, SNM recruits training for combat in Aware, Ethiopia; SNM Fighters in the Haud; Hargeisa in ruins after airstrikes; Hargeisa War Memorial | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Somalia Supported by: United States (1981-1988)[1][2][3] Saudi Arabia[3] Libya (1988-1991)[3][4] South Africa (1984-1991)[4] |
SNM Supported by: Ethiopia[5][6] | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Siad Barre Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan Muhammad Ali Samatar Mohamed Hashi Gani Yusuf Abdi Ali "Tukeh" |
Ahmed Mohamed Gulaid Sheikh Yusuf Ali Sheikh Madar Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Mohamed Hasan Abdullahi (Jidhif) Abdilahi Husein Iman Darawal Mohamed Farah Dalmar Yusuf Mohamed Hashi Lihle † Muse Bihi Abdi Mohamed Kahin Ahmed Abdiqadir Kosar Abdi Ibrahim Koodbuur Abdullahi Askar Ibrahim Dhagahweyne Hassan Yonis Habane | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
60,000 (1987)[7] Numerous South African and Rhodesian mercenaries[8] |
3,000–4,000 (1982–1988) 50,000–70,000 civilians (1991)[9] | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
Heavy | Heavy | ||||||||
50,000–100,000 due to the Isaaq Genocide[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][excessive citations] High estimates range between 100,000–200,000[18][19][20][21][22][23][excessive citations] Displaced: 500,000 refugees[24][25] 400,000 internally displaced[26][27][28] |
As a direct response to the harsh policies enacted by the Barre regime against the Isaaq people,[32] in April 1981 a group of Isaaq businesspeople, students, former civil servants and former politicians founded the Somali National Movement in London.[33] From February 1982, Isaaq army officers and fighters started moving into Ethiopia where they formed the nucleus of what would later become the armed wing of the SNM.[34] Throughout the early to mid 1980s SNM launched a guerrilla war against the Barre regime through incursions and hit and run operations on army positions within Isaaq territories, especially into the Waqooyi Galbeed and Togdheer regions.[35]
After the conclusion of a peace deal between Somalia's military junta and Ethiopia in April 1988[36] the SNM launched a major offensive in late May 1988, overrunning the cities of Hargeisa and Burao,[37][38][39] then the second and third largest cities of Somalia.[40][41] During the ongoing conflict, the Somali government's genocidal campaign against the Isaaq took place between May 1988 and March 1989, with explicit aims of handling the "Isaaq problem", Barre ordered the shelling and aerial bombardment of the major cities in the northwest and the systematic destruction of Isaaq dwellings, settlements and water points.[42] The Siad Barre regime targeted civilian members of the Isaaq group specifically,[20] especially in the cities of Hargeisa and Burao and to that end employed the use of indiscriminate artillery shelling and aerial bombardment against civilian populations belonging to the Isaaq clan.[43][44][45]
By early 1990, the Barre regime had lost control of large parts of the northern regions, and by its collapse in January 1991, the SNM succeeded in taking full control of northwestern Somalia including Hargeisa and other regional capitals,[46][47] after which the organisation quickly opted for a cessation of hostilities and reconciliation with non-Isaaq communities,[48] culminating in the "Grand Conference of the Northern Clans" in Burao between 27 April and 18 May 1991 and the subsequent formation of the Republic of Somaliland.[49]