SUMMARY

The Forces of Abdurahman Ahmed Ali ‘Tuur’ was a Garhajis clan (Isaaq) militia, based mainly among the Habar Yunis sub-clan of Garhajis clan. Most of the members were former combatants of the rebel group SNM (Somali National Movement) which had fought the Somali government of Siad Barre until he was ousted in 1991. When the Republic of Somaliland was formed (for more information on this, see the section on Republic of Somaliland in the database) SNM fragmented along clan, and political, lines.

Former chairman of SNM, Abdurahman Ahmed Ali ‘Tuur’ became the first president of Somaliland after it declared secession from the Somali state in May 1991. However, after a series of conflicts that followed the ‘Tuur’ government’s attempts to centralize the governing of Somaliland, he was replaced by opposition leader Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal.

‘Tuur’, as a representative for the Garhajis, and in particular Habar Yunis, felt that the deals made at the conferences that also led to his deposition were very unfavorable for the sub-clan. According to him, the power-sharing deals decided upon did not take into account the numbers and spread of the Garhajis in Somaliland. Furthermore, there were claims that the ‘calan cas’ were members of Egal’s government. The ‘calan cas’ were former SNM hardliners who had formed a strong, armed, opposition against ‘Tuur’s’ government. The creation of the Forces of Abdurahman Ahmed Ali ‘Tuur’ was thus a reaction to the deposition of him from the presidency. ‘Tuur’ shared the leadership of the opposition with General Jama Mohamed Qalib ‘Yare’ of the ‘Idagalle sub-clan of Garhajis.

In 1996 both Abdurahman Ahmed Ali ‘Tuur’ and General Jama Mohamed Qalib ‘Yare’ received political positions in Mogadishu under the presidency of Muhamed Farah ‘Aideed’. There have been reports that Aideed had supported ‘Tuur’s’ forces with military equipment before that. Both had previously declared their opposition to the existence of Somaliland as an independent country.

The Forces of Abdurahman Ahmed Ali ‘Tuur’ have been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.