SUMMARY
The USC/SSA (United Somali Congress/Somali Salvation Alliance) was an armed faction that evolved from the USC (United Somali Congress) after disputes over leadership and the organisation’s goals. The original USC (United Somali Congress) was founded in central Somalia in 1989, when the resistance against the dictatorship of Siad Barre reached its height. The group was founded by Ali Mohamed Osobleh Wardhiigley, but was soon after its inception led by Mohammed Farah Aideed.
The USC was formed mainly by members of Somalia’s powerful Hawiye clan, but due to its prominence and battlefield successes the group soon attracted a larger following from outside of the Hawiye. The USC was instrumental in the toppling of Siad Barre in 1991 and one of its prominent members, Ali Mahdi, was installed as President of Somalia. Soon after the group suffered bitter fractionalisation, with several prominent members creating their own USC factions in a struggle for power over the country. One of the most famous factions was the USC/SNA faction of Mohamed Aideed, the main target of US ‘Operation Restore Hope’ and one of Somalia’s most powerful warlords. Ali Mahdi took command of the bulk of anti-Aideed forces, forming the USC/SSA in 1993 and encompassing twelve different groups that were all opposed to Aideed.
Ali Mahdi and Aideed made peace in 1998, engaging in an alliance to restore government to the war-torn country. In an internal coup in opposition to this alliance Ali Mahdi was however deposed as the leader of the USC/SSA, with his former vice-president Musa Sudi Yalahow taking over the leadership of the organisation. Musa Sudi soon consolidated his forces to become the strongest independent force in Mogadishu. Musa Sudi was, however, opposed by warlords that did not accept his leadership, leading to non-state conflicts over the leadership of the USC/SSA. Musa Sudi drew much support from his Abgal sub-clan of the Hawiye.
Musa Sudi’s faction of the USC/SSA decided not to join the TNG (Transitional National Government) at its creation in the year 2000. The group instead reconciled with the USC/SNA of Aideed and joined with it in the SRRC (Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council) to oppose the transitional authorities. This caused another violent split within the movement, along a dividing line that became visible in 2001 during the Nakuru talks. Musa Sudi’s militia commander Omar Mohamed Mohamud “Finish” was in favour of joining the TNG and when it became clear that Musa Sudi would violently oppose the transitional authorities he choose to split from the USC/SSA, claiming he was its true leader. This break caused yet another round of violent inter-factional fighting.
Musa Sudi’s militia is mainly based in Mogadishu, where he has had a continuing interest in controlling the lucrative airport northeast of the city. His stronghold has been the city’s district of Medina. The USC/SSA is known to have been supported by Ethiopia with weapons and financing at the time when it opposed Aideed and at the same time had cooperative relationships with many of the factions that opposed the powerful Aideed. After joining the TFG (Transitional Federal Government, the successor to the TNG) the USC/SSA is known to have had similar relationships with the warlords, clans and factions that swear allegiance to those authorities. The USC/SSA is known to have had a powerful militia, complete with automatic weapons and technicals (battlewagons), but the exact number has fluctuated over the years and is unclear.
In 2004 the USC/SSA and “Finish reconciled, both joining the TFG and Musa Sudi employed his forces in 2006 against the TFG-opposed Islamists of SICS (Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia). In 2007 Musa Sudi accepted the TFG’s demand to disarm and ordered most of his militia to integrate themselves into the transitional administrations police and military forces.
The USC/SSA has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.
