Draft:Somali Civil War (1991–1992)

• Comment: I'm not seeing a reliable source substantiating why the periodization from 1988–1992 is notable. voorts (talk/contributions) 22:58, 5 November 2023 (UTC)

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Somali Civil War (1991–1992)
Part of the Somali Civil War
An abandoned street in Mogadishu, 1993
Date 27 May 1988 – 3 December 1992 (4 years, 6 months and 6 days) Location Somalia Result Inconclusive; United Nations intervention
Belligerents
United Somali Congress Somali National Movement Somali Patriotic Movement (all until Jan. 1991)		Somali Democratic Republic
Ali Mahdi-aligned faction of USC (all until Dec. 1992)	Mohamed Farrah Aidid-aligned faction of USC (all until Dec. 1992)	Somali National Front (all until Dec. 1992)

The 1988 to 1992 period of the Somali Civil War refers to the decline and subsequent overthrow of Siad Barre's regime by many rebel groups, followed by warlord conflict between various factions within Somalia. Throughout the period, rival clan-based warlord factions fought each other in many shifting alliances.

Following Somalia's defeat in the Ogaden War, discontent with Siad Barre's government increased drastically, culminating in the formation of two initial rebel groups; the Somali Salvation Democratic Front and the predominantly Isaaq Somali National Movement. During its fight against Barre's government, SNM launched a major offensive in May 1988, seizing the major northern cities of Burao and Hargeisa. In the aftermath of the offensive, numerous other rebellions sprung up against Barre's regime, including the largely Ogadeni Somali Patriotic Movement, and the Hawiye United Somali Congress. The many rebel groups initially cooperated to fight Siad Barre's government, and in December 1990, the USC launched a campaign in the capital, Mogadishu, to oust Barre, removing him from power completely on 26 January, 1991.

After Barre's overthrow, however, the USC unilaterally appointed Ali Mahdi Muhammad as interim president, without consulting other rebel groups- as such, the others declined to cooperate with it. In addition, another faction of the USC, headed by Mohamed Farrah Aidid, also disagreed with the appointment. The USC soon attacked the SPM and SSDF in February 1991, sparking a renewed war between the former rebel factions. Barre returned and allied with the SPM to attempt to retake power, but the SPM was unable to seize Mogadishu. The Aidid-Mahdi split later resulted in devastating armed battles in Mogadishu from November 1991 to March 1992, that left over 14,000 dead, according to Human Rights Watch.

The fighting caused a catastrophic famine that left hundreds of thousands dead in Somalia from 1991 to 1992. The famine and heavy fighting resulted in greater international attention to the crisis, and eventually gave way to the United Nations intervention, UNOSOM I, to send humanitarian aid, and a minor military force to guard the humanitarian aid from looting.

Background

In the 1980s Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre broke up the Somali National Army into clan groupings in order to help maintain his control. A civil war was underway by 1987-88. Fighting reached the edges of Mogadishu by late 1990 at the latest. Barre fled Mogadishu in late January 1991 for his home region. The main rebel group in the capital Mogadishu was the United Somali Congress (USC), which later divided into two armed factions: one led by Ali Mahdi Muhammad, who later became president; and the other by Mohamed Farrah Aidid, which became known as USC/Somali National Alliance.

US Marines CH-53 Sea Stallion delivers aid to the village of Maleel (January 1993)

Severe fighting broke out in Mogadishu between Mahdi and Aidid, then spread throughout the country, resulting in over 20,000 casualties by the end of 1991. The civil war destroyed Somalia's agriculture, which led to starvation in large parts of southern Somalia. The international community began to send food supplies, but much—estimates run from 20 to 80 percent—was hijacked and brought to local clan leaders, who routinely exchanged it with other countries for weapons. Between 1991 and 1992 an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people died from starvation and another 1.5 million people suffered from it. This situation was exacerbated by the hijacking of aid convoys and supplies.

Operation Provide Relief began in August 1992, when U.S. President George H. W. Bush announced that U.S. military transports would support the multinational U.N. relief effort in Somalia. Ten C-130s and 400 people were deployed to Mombasa, Kenya, airlifting aid to Somalia's remote areas and reducing reliance on truck convoys. The C-130s delivered 48,000 tons of food and medical supplies in six months to international humanitarian organizations trying to help Somalia's more than three million starving people.

When this did not stop the massive death and displacement of the Somali people (500,000 dead and 1.5 million refugees or displaced), the U.S. launched "Operation Restore Hope" to assist and protect humanitarian activities in December 1992. Under U.S. urging the United Nations Security Council had given the U.S. overall command, authorised by United Nations Security Council Resolution 794. The U.S. Marine Corps landed the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit which quickly secured routes to Baidoa, Balidogle and Kismayo, then were reinforced by the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division.

Notes

• See Metz and other references at Somali Armed Forces,

Metz, Helen (c. 1993). Somalia: A Country Study (PDF). Library of Congress. Retrieved 12 July 2019.

• History of Mediation in Somalia [1]
• Rising famine
• Africa Report [2]
• Significant Political-Military Developments in Sub-Saharan Africa
• A Government At War With Its Own People
• CLAUSEWITZ AND AFRICAN WAR
• Somalia: Fall of Siad Barre and the civil war
• Somalian Civil War 1991-1993
• on SSDF-USC clashes
• A REPORT OF THE ASSESSMENT MISSION TO BARI, NUGAAL AND MUDUG REGIONS OF SOMALIA FROM SEPTEMBER 17TH - 30TH 1991 TO THE INTER-NGO COMMITTEE FOR SOMALIA (UK)
• SOMALIA ASSESSMENT: April 2001
• SOMALIA: A Human Rights Disaster
• The Wars in the North and the Creation of Somaliland
• Chronology of Events: June 1994 - April 1995 (Supplement to Chronology of Events September 1992 - June 1994)

Overthrow of Siad Barre (1988–1991)

May 1988–December 1990: Government loses control

Southern Somalia

In April of 1989, around 3,000 Ogadeni soldiers mutinied in and around the city of Kismayo. Kismayo itself remained in government hands, but the mutineers retreated into the bush to fight government forces. In one instance, in August, the Ogadeni rebels kidnapped 12 members of Barre's Marehan clan in Kismayo, demanding the release of Adan Abdyullahi Ngor, a General and former Defence Minister arrested on charges of treason. The whole of Kismayo was said to be in the hands of the rebels by August, according to various diplomatic sources, as hundreds of Somalis fleeing the growing violence came to Kenya. The Ogadeni rebels formed the Somali Patriotic Movement in June.

Northern Somalia

An uprising in Borama occurred in early August of 1989, with the SNM claiming control of the city, while Colonel Omar Ghies defected from the Somali army near Hargeisa, with as many as 2,000 of his fighters. Ghies' forces did not join with the SNM, but rather agreed not to attack them as they each focused on fighting the government.

December 1990–January 1991: Fall of Mogadishu

In early December 1990, the United Somali Congress 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 1st, 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, 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 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.

Civil war (1991–1992)

January–November 1991: Reconciliation attempts & descent into civil war

The overthrow of Siad Barre came with widespread jubilation in Mogadishu. Although fighting was still reportedly ongoing in Brava, celebrations of victory continued, especially with the swearing-in of Ali Mahdi as the interim President. Some civilians who evacuated during the fighting returned, but the city was in ruins due to the battle.

The USC called for "justice, equality, unity and democracy" in the aftermath of Barre's overthrow, and largely advocated for a return to normalcy. Ali Mahdi, of the USC, declared himself the new interim President of Somalia on 30 January. However, the Somali National Movement, one of the northern rebel groups, disputed this claim to the presidency, claiming that they hadn't been consulted on the decision. The other main rebel movement, the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), also denounced Mahdi's claim to the presidency, stating that there had been an agreement for all rebels to convene and elect a leader. Even another member of the USC, Mohamed Farrah Aidid, strongly opposed the declaration- Aidid had been elected to be the chairman of the USC at a congress near the border with Ethiopia, but his position as the chairman was not recognized by USC forces in Mogadishu. Aidid's refusal to support Mahdi's declaration would serve as a signal of future inter-USC fighting between Mahdi and Aidid beginning in November of 1991. Nevertheless, the USC began to make attempts at joining the other rebel groups that fought Siad Barre, in order to form a new, united government. It claimed to have formed a caretaker government as a necessity; a national conference among the former rebel movements was scheduled for February 18. During fighting between the SPM and the SSDF against the USC, the USC made an attempt to set up a conference in order to end the civil war in Somalia in March, but none of its most relevant rivals participated, and the civil war continued.

The USC launched a surprise attack against the SPM from the southwest (rather than the main road from Mogadishu) on 6 February, in Afgoi, as artillery and mortar fire was exchanged in the clash. On 10 February, the USC captured Afgoi, repulsing the SPM decisively. Reports that Siad Barre may have been attempting to align with the SPM to return to power soon arose. The USC continued a sweep beyond Afgoi, against Gedo and Kismayo as well, and the offensive was able to seize wide swaths of central and southern Somalia. A Darod-dominated, largely Barre-loyalist coalition named the Somali National Front was formed in mid-February, and began to clash with the Hawiye-dominated parts of the USC, launching a major offensive north against the USC in late-February. They claimed to repel a USC advance on the SNF-held city of Kismayo in March, and pushed the frontline to Brava. They soon seized Shalambood on 22 March, where 170 USC fighters reportedly surrendered, and began an advance on Mogadishu.

Meanwhile, confrontations between the Majeerteen-dominated Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) and the USC began on 26 February of 1991. The USC attacked the city of Galkayo, and claimed to have seized it on 3 March. A group called Concerned Somalis claimed that the USC sent 1,000 "highly trained commandoes" to indiscriminately kill civilians in the city, while also indiscriminately shelling the city with artillery. On 31 March, Aidid's faction launched a major offensive into the Mudug and Nugal regions, attacking Galkayo again and killing and wounding around 970 people. An alliance between the SSDF and the SPM soon grew out of opposition to the USC's aggression, and the SSDF participated in operations against the USC. The SSDF and SPM reached Afgoi again on 8 April, but lack of ammunition for the SNF, and disunity among the ranks, allowed the USC to counterattack, striking them, seizing Kismayo on 24 April, and the SNF was routed back to Bardere and the Gedo region, near Kenya, where the USC was unable to expel the remaining fighters.

The USC maintained control of territory stretching from Mogadishu to Baidoa to Kismayo, but could not make progress against the SSDF, which held the regions of Bari, Mudug, Nugal, Sool, and Sanaag. In addition, it would soon lose Kismayo and Brava to the SNF in June and July, 1991.

Fighting between Ali Mahdi-aligned forces and Aidid-aligned forces first occurred in a major quantity in September of 1991. From 4 September or 5 September to 8 September, Mahdi's forces launched an attack on Aidid's headquarters in Mogadishu, launching multiple days of fighting that was ended by intervention from the Hawadle and Murusade clans, who sent clan militias into the city to stop the fighting. It was believed that up to 300 were killed and 1,200 injured in the fighting, which occurred in spite of neither Mahdi nor Aidid having an "obvious interest in provoking the clashes", as Africa Confidential wrote- Aidid's best forces were engaged outside of Mogadishu at the time, and Mahdi did not want to engage in battles it may lose rather than going with a political framework.

November 1991–December 1992: Escalation

The first scene of major fighting in Mogadishu following the overthrow of Siad Barre was between two opposing factions of the rebel United Somali Congress (USC), as Mohamed Farrah Aidid, disagreed with, and did not recognize, Mahdi's declaration to be President. Despite the USC being dominated by the Hawiye clan, the disagreement sitll had clan-based roots- Mahdi was a member of the Habar Gedir sub-clan of the Hawiye, while Aidid was part of the Abgal sub-clan of the Hawiye. From the overthrow of Siad Barre to mid-November of 1991, the USC would attempt, in vain, to solve the political crisis- intermittent fighting began between the Mahdi-aligned faction and the Aidid-aligned faction.

Intensified armed combat began when Aidid's militia attacked the forces of Mahdi in Mogadishu on 17 November. Quickly, Aidid was reported to be in control of the radio station, where his forces were said to have broadcast an announcement of Mahdi's overthrow. Heavy fighting took place between the KM4 junction and the Makka al-Mukarama hotel. The Italian embassy was alleged to have been broken into by Aidid's forces, its staff taken to a safe area under Aidid's control. Mahdi, however, claimed that he had not been ousted. The frontline reportedly moved to around the Villa Somalia. Aidid's forces were generally reported to assault Mahdi's forces with shellings and the like during the day, while Mahdi's forces ambushed Aidid's during the night. The fighting deteriorated into a deadly stalemate, as Aidid was able to push Mahdi into northern Mogadishu after about 2 days of fighting, reportedly ousting him from power and seizing Mogadishu's radio station, but could not dislodge them from their northern stronghold. The capital was divided between the northern Mahdi-held areas and the southern Aidid-held areas.

After prior attempts at mediation, first by the Organisation of African Unity's (OAU) Secretary General Salim Ahmed Salim in December, and then by Eritrea (prior to its 1993 referendum), a UN official announced in February that both parties would meet in New York to seek a truce. Ali Mahdi went to the meeting in person, while Aidid sent three representatives. A ceasefire was confirmed on 15 February, 1992, and large humanitarian shipments would begin to relieve the population of Mogadishu. However, such humanitarian relief was often halted by renewed shelling of the port by Aidid's forces, hours after the ceasefire was agreed to. Fighting would continue despite the ceasefire, although at a lower rate then before. It was believed at the time that Aidid's factions were attempting to surround Mahdi's forces in Karan District, while Aidid's forces also seized some strategic hills during the slowing fighting.

By 27 February, both USC factions said they would stop fighting and shelling to allow the movement of a United Nations team. After another ceasefire violation that each faction blamed the other for instigating, both sides agreed on 4 March to a U.N-sponsored ceasefire, although disagreements on how it would be implemented persisted. Discussions on the implementation of the ceasefire began during the first period of negotiations that combined the efforts of the UN, the OAU, the Arab League, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference- it was described by the Christian Science Monitor as "a shift away from a past 'hands-off' policy toward internal conflicts of sovereign states". Despite the continued peace efforts and the ceasefire agreement, however, clashes and shelling continued in the city, and UN officials warned that they may be forced to pull out. Proposals for outside intervention in Somalia to stop the fighting began at this time- the United Nations Security Council would adopt a resolution to establish a team of experts that'd travel to Somalia and examine whether an intervention force to stop fighting could be established. The mission to Somalia began to establish talks between the two factions on 23 March.

An agreement was reached to establish a joint control of the area around the airport and seaport to stop fighting there in late March. The violence gradually shifted from being a product of the inter-clan fighting to being a product of armed gangs taking part in looting. As inter-USC disputes began to be settled, conflict between the SNF and both factions of the USC would escalate once again, with an SNF offensive reaching Mogadishu by April. The offensive would immediately fail, and a successful USC counteroffensive forced the SNF back to the border with Kenya- the success of the offensive caused Siad Barre to flee from Gedo to Kenya in exile by 29 April. However, the SNF launched a counterattack in September which was slightly more successful in that they held their territory, although they did not reach Mogadishu. Intervention in the crisis was occurring throughout the conflicts between the SNF and the USC- the United Nations launched the humanitarian operation known as UNOSOM (retrospectively known as UNOSOM I), to deliver humanitarian supplies and monitor a ceasefire that had been agreed upon by Mahdi and Aidid of the USC in April of 1992. The Pakistani soldiers sent to monitor the ceasefire were unable to do so, as they were constantly threatened by the warring parties in the city.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 775 was approved of unanimously by the Security Council, and the U.S-led Unified Task Force landed in, and secured, Mogadishu in December of 1992.

Humanitarian crisis

Mogadishu, 1991-1992

Human Rights Watch estimated that, in the period of major fighting from November to February, 14,000 were killed and 27,000 were wounded. Indiscriminate shelling against both enemy and civilian targets in the city contributed to the high death toll and general distruction in Mogadishu. The reported lack of medical facilities in Ali Mahdi's territory further complicated the situation. There were constantly reported extrajudicial executions of prisoners, and attacks on medical personnel were common. The fighting was said to have perpetuated a severe refugee crisis that left up to half of the cities pre-war population of 1.2 million fleeing. Most aid agencies operated in areas under control of Aidid, and as such could not reach wounded on Mahdi's side. To alleviate the humanitarian situation, the Red Cross planned to send 2 emergency surgical teams to Mogadishu, one to Mahdi-held areas (in the north) and one to Aidid-held areas (in the south). Artillery shelling prevented a Red Cross ship from unloading humanitarian supplies to the wartorn city in December. The "Burbur" (meaning "catastrophe"), as some Somalis called the battle, also resulted in increased international awareness of the crisis in Somalia.

References

Works cited

• Ghalib, Jama Mohamed (1995). The cost of dictatorship: the Somali experience. L. Barber Press.
• Kapteijns, Lidwien (2012). Clan Cleansing in Somalia: The Ruinous Legacy of 1991 (PDF). University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Bradbury, Mark (1994). The Somali Conflict: Prospects for Peace. Oxfam.