SUMMARY

The Ali-Gaf is a subclan of the Abgal, one of the clans of the Hawiye clan family. The Hawiye is one of Somalia’s largest clan families representing an estimated 25% of the country’s total population. Members of the clan family mainly reside in central and southern parts of Somalia (Mudug and the Benadir regions), but large numbers can also be found in neighboring countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia. The Hawiye played a major role in the ousting of former president Siad Barre, as the main rebel group that eventually succeeded in overthrowing him, USC (United Somali Congress), was primarily based among this clan. The Hawiye clan is relatively powerful in economic terms due to a large community in Mogadishu. The rural based Hawiye are commonly also involved in lucrative trade, but are also pastoralist. Many of the clans and sub-clans of the Hawiye clan family have remained influential in Somalia.

The Ali-Gaf subclan primarily inhabits the Middle Shabelle region and are, as most of the Hawiye clans inhabiting the central regions of Somalia, nomadic pastoralists.

The complexity of the Somali clan system limits the amount of information available about the different sub-clans. Indeed, there are several perspectives on the lineage charts namely a northern, a central and a southern one. Furthermore the different subclans often disagree about their origins. Genealogy is often passed to the next generation orally and is not kept in any written form.

The Ali-Gaf subclan of Abgal clan has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence