SUMMARY

The Luway sub-clan of the Digil-Mirifle is a Somalia clan of the Mirifle denomination. The Digil-Mirifle clan is one of Somalia’s largest, making up around 20% of the country’s population. The Digil and Mirifle clans are often grouped together and referred to as the Rahanweyn, but the specific Mirifle denomination is also at times referred to as the Rahanweyn. The Luway sub-clan belongs to the wing of the Mirifle that is called the “Sagaal” (the Nine) and mainly inhabits the Bay, Bakool and Gedo regions of Somalia.

Like other clans within the Mirifle grouping the Luway have a mixed agro-pastoral economy, but the Luway are predominantly pastoral. The Digil-Mirifle speak their own dialect of Somali, which differs from the official Somali language, something that caused resentment during the dictatorship of Siad Barre. Like many other clans in Somalia the Luway sub-clan is relatively militarized and has at times engaged in non-state conflicts with rivalling clans and political organisations in the chaotic environment of post-Barre Somalia.

The Luway clan is known to have had some minor links to the RRA (Rahanweyn Resistance Army), an anti-Aideed faction formed in 1995 by a number of Digil-Mirifle clans. In 2002 the group formed an autonomous region called the “South-West State of Somalia”. For more information, see the RRA actor description.

The Luway sub-clan of the Mirifle (Digil-Mirifle) has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.