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.
Clashes between the Sa'ad subclan of the Habar Gidir clan (Hawiye) and the Suleiman subclan of Habar Gidir clan (Hawiye) first took place in modern times in the early 1990s, when a large number of non-state groups fought for supremacy over post-Barre Somalia. The Mudug area in central Somalia, home to large concentrations of both the Sa'ad subclan and the Suleiman subclan, saw fierce combat throughout these years, being a valuable price as one of Somalia's major crossroads of trade and commerce. Other events however overtook this conflict towards the mid-1990s and the conflict petered out.
In UCDP data the conflict is first recorded as being active in 2004, when it resurfaced. Competition over pastures and grazing land for livestock appears to have been the initial trigger, escalating in mid-2004 when a cycle of murders of members of the two sub-clans began to spiral out of control. These sporadic clashes escalated further towards the end of 2004 and early 2005, as the Sa'ad subclan and the Suleiman subclan engaged in outright battles, using technicals, rocket launchers, and tanks in attempts to seize territory from the other party.
Although the trigger of the conflict appears to have been competition over scarce resources some analysts conclude that the conflict soon transformed into yet another scene for violent competition over political dominance. Local leaders appear to have been sidelined by more powerful political actors in Mogadishu, which used the conflict to jockey for power over Mudug, and to some extent Mogadishu. Control over Mudug appears to have been important for many Habar Gidir/Hawiye leaders in the capital since the region was also a battleground for political and armed conflict with the Darod clan (also numerous in the region).
Fighting between the two sub-clans stood mainly in the southern Mugud region and in the Galgadud region, the two regions that make up central Somalia. Especially fierce fighting stood in the districts of Gellinsoor and Hobyo. In addition to small arms the warring parties made use of technicals, rocket launchers, and old Soviet-style tanks.
This round of Sa'ad subclan versus Suleiman subclan fighting ended with a peace process between the two groups; initiated in June 2006 and finalized in July the same year. The peace was mediated by local and high-level leaders, as well as by intervention from the Transitional Federal Government and the Puntland authorities. The peace was based on an unimplemented peace agreement from 1993, simply named the Mudug Peace Agreement. Some forms of compensation appear to have been paid, but the underlying issues of the conflict (grazing and water rights, and the overarching political conflicts) were not resolved.
When more and more regional administrations started to evolve in rural parts of Somalia, a new dimension was added to the relationship between Sa'ad subclan and the Suleiman subclan. While Sa'ad subclan members are reportedly loyal to the Galmudug administration, Suleiman subclan members have a sense of belonging to the Ximan & Xeeb administration. Clashes between the two clans have thus resulted in tensions between the two administrations.
The non-state conflict between the Sa'ad subclan of the Habar Gidir clan (Hawiye) and the Suleiman subclan of Habar Gidir clan (Hawiye) is first included in UCDP data in 2004. In December that year clashes between the two sub-clans in the Gellinsoor district of Galgadud (bordering on Mugud province) resulted in approximately 33 battle-related deaths.
