SUMMARY

Unlike other multiethnic countries in the Sub-Saharan African context, the Somali society is characterized by a vast system of clans. Most of the population belongs to one of the five overarching clan families namely the Darod, the Isaaq, the Hawiye, the Dir, and the Rahanweyn (also known as Rewin or Digil-Mirifle). Each clan family is further divided into sub-clans and in some cases into sub-sub-clans. The origins of the clans are shared and each clan is related to the others, yet there are differences in terms of culture, tradition, and the form of life.

Up until independence in 1960, the Somali society was organized according to the clan system and each clan had a leader and a council of elders. These leaders played a major role in daily life and especially in intertribal relations. The council of elders was responsible for maintaining peace and harmony amongst the Somali people. Weakened clans were, for example, to be protected and were at times integrated into stronger clans in order to assure its survival. When inter-clan conflicts did occur, rules of conduct were agreed upon; such as caring for the injured or the treatment of prisoners.

During the post-independence era, traditional structures were replaced by modern governmental and judicial institutions hence removing the power once given to the clan leader and the council of the elders. As a result, relations between clans continuously deteriorated, which in turn also resulted in a stronger sense of affiliation to one’s own clan. This process contributed to, and was further strengthened by, the outbreak of the intra-state conflict in Somalia which began at the end of 1982. Clan-related conflicts continued to fuel non-state conflicts in Somalia.

At the beginning of June 2005, a long-lasting dispute between the Galje'el clan and the Jejele subclan over access to water and pasture rapidly escalated into a violent conflict. After the deaths of three clan members in a minor incident, fighting erupted in the middle of the city of Beledweyne, located in the western parts of central Somalia. As a response, a committee of elders, religious leaders, and scholars from neutral clans were formed to solve the conflict between the two related Hawiye clans. Although the committee managed to temporarily halt the conflict, the mediation process failed and fighting continued the following day. After three days of battle, the conflict, which had claimed the lives of 36 people, came to an end.

The non-state conflict between the Galje'el clan (Hawiye) and the Jejele subclan of Jibedi clan (Hawiye) is first included in UCDP data in 2005. At the beginning of June of that year, the threshold of 25 battle-related deaths was reached after several armed confrontations in the city of Beledweyne.