SUMMARY

The Ogaden clan (Darod) and the Sheikhal clan (Dir) are both Somali sub-clans. Historically, the Sheikhal clan (Dir) were the religious leaders of their communities, forming relationships with other Somali clans and settled or moved with them. This had the effect that the group as such did not occupy any territory of its own. In Ethiopia the Sheikhal clan (Dir) had this type of relationship primarily with the Ogaden clan (Darod), the largest Somali group in the country.

With the overthrow of the military regime in 1991, the country was turned into a federation. In this process it soon became evident that the key to gaining access to representation on all levels of government was for an ethnic group to secure territorial claims. The Sheikhal clan (Dir) realized the implications for their clan and resentment towards the Ogaden clan (Darod), among whom they lived began building, manifested by sporadic small-scale clashes in 1997.

After negotiations between Sheikhal clan (Dir) elders and a number of non-Ogadeni clans, an agreement was reached that enabled the group to settle in Raso, a locality forty kilometers northwest of West Imi town. The period from March 2001 to early 2002 saw a large-scale migration of Sheikhal clan (Dir) to Raso, resulting in the settlement of between 20 000 and 30 000 in and around the awarded locality. However, there was resentment among neighboring [Ogaden(/#actor/663) sub-clans, and soon small-scale sporadic clashes erupted again.

The non-state conflict between the Ogaden clan (Darod) and the Sheikhal clan (Dir) and the is first included in UCDP data in 1999. In September that year clashes between the two groups in Hosingow village in Somalia resulted in well over 25 battle-related deaths.