SUMMARY

The USC/SSA – OMF (United Somali Congress/Somali Salvation Alliance - Omar Mohamed Mohamud "Finish" faction) 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 lead mainly by Mohammed Farah Aideed.

The USC was formed primarily 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 and notorious 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 (which became called USC/SSA - MS).

Musa Sudi’s faction of the USC/SSA decided not to join the TNG (Transitional National Government) at its creation in the year 2000. At the talks on Somalia’s reunification under one administration in Nakuru in 2001 Musa Sudi chose to stick to his anti-TNG stand, whilst his militia commander, Omar Mohamed Mohamud “Finish”, argued that the movement should join with the TNG. Whilst Musa Sudi joined his former rival Aideed in the SRRC (Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council), “Finish” chose to sign an agreement to join the TNG. This caused another violent split within the movement, which spawned inter-factional fighting between the Musa Sudi (MS) faction and the “Finish” (OMF) faction of the USC/SSA. Both warlords claimed to be the true leader of the movement.

The USC/SSA - OMF is known to have had operational alliances with several Somali factions, among these the USC/SNA faction warlords Qanyare and Ato, and also Mowlid Ma’ane of the SAMO (Somali African Muki Organisation). The exact number of soldiers that the USC/SSA - F had under its control is unknown. The movement was mainly based in Mogadishu strongholds.

In 2004 the USC/SSA - OMF reconciled with the Musa Sudi faction, both joining the TFG. “Finish” later (in 2006) joined the US-backed ARPCT (Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism) to battle the rising threat of the Islamist SICS (Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia). In 2007 he agreed to disarm his militia and integrate the soldiers into the police and military forces of the TFG (Transitional Federal Government, the successor entity to the TNG).

The USC/SSA - OMF has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.