SUMMARY

The Fiqi Mohamud sub-clan of the Mehe clan is the third tier of the Somali Dir clan (sometimes the Figi Mohamud sub-clan is viewed as a second, and not third, tier of the Dir). Other sub-clans of the Dir include the Gadabursi, Issa, and Madahwayn, which all have sub-clans on lower tiers. Members of the Dir clan reside mainly in the northwest, southeast and central parts of Somalia, with the Fiqi Mohamud sub-clan residing mainly in the northern and central parts of the country. Large numbers of the Dir and Fiqi Mohamud also reside in Ethiopia and Djibouti.

The Dir clan makes up only a small portion of Somalia’s population, approximately 7%. Like the Darod, Hawiye and Issaq clans the clan is commonly referred to as being ‘Samaale’; or of the ‘noble clans’ that have Somali origin. Those of the Dir that are not urbanised are usually pastoralist, something which has brought the group into conflict with many other pastoralist groups. The Fiqi Mohamud sub-clan, like many others in Somalia, has constructed its own militia and engaged in non-state conflicts with rivalling non-state actors in the chaotic environment that followed on Siad Barre’s fall from power in 1991. The prevailing context of political rivalries in Somalia is mainly based on identification along clan lines.

The Fiqi Mohamud sub-clan of the Mehe clan of the Dir has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.