SUMMARY

The Digil Salvation Army (DSA) was a Somali militia made up of the Digil clan of the Rahanweyn clan family. The group was formed in early 1999, in resistance to the Hawiye, more particularly Habr Gedir, based militia USC/SNA (United Somali Congress/Somali National Alliance), which was occupying large parts of southern Somalia in the 1990s. The group had a strong basis in the area around the city of Qoryoley, in Lower Shabelle region in south Somalia, which is also where the majority of its armed activities took place.

The leader of the group was Colonel Ali Sheikh Abdulkadir. Another often cited member of the group was its spokesperson Asan Abdi Mohamed. DSA was cooperating with their clan brethren in RRA (Rahanweyn Resistance Army) who were also fighting to oust USC/SNA from the south-central regions of Somalia in the late 1990s.

After 2000, it is unclear what became of DSA. Its disappearance from the scene may have been linked to the fighting between the Garre and Jiddo clans (both sub clans of Digil) which took place in Qoryoley in 2000. Another possibility is that it was linked to the intra-RRA fighting that erupted after the formation of TNG (Transitional National Government, an attempt to create a government of national unity in Somalia). Some reports indicate that that DSA at times fought against RRA, but these have not been possible to confirm.

DSA has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.