SUMMARY
In order to understand the complex situation that faced Somalia in the early 1990s it is important to also understand the process that brought the country there. Major General Siad Barre had ruled the country since he took power in a coup in 1969. His politics were seen as favorable primarily to those of his own clan, the Marehan subclan (Darod). The unfavorable politics towards other clans made a number of organizations, namely SSF (Somali Salvation Front), SWP (Somali Workers Party), and DFLS (Democratic Front for the Liberation of Somalia) unite in SSDF (Somali Salvation Democratic Front), a mainly Majerteen subclan (Darod) coalition against Barre. The conflict over Somalia thus began in 1981 and in 1982 another group, the Isaaq clan-based SNM (Somali National Movement), launched yet another campaign against the Barre regime. The two groups cooperated at times but never merged.
In 1989 two new groups entered into the conflict; SPM (Somali Patriotic Movement) and USC (United Somali Congress). SPM had its backbone in the Ogaden clan (Darod) while USC grew to become a large Hawiye clan coalition of several sub-clans. All these factions were thus fighting, and sometimes cooperating, to overthrow the regime of Siad Barre but there were some differences in how they perceived that this would best be done. One section of the USC, led by, amongst others, Ali Mahdi (Abgal/Hawiye) joined up with some prominent politicians and formed the so-called ‘Manifesto group’, calling for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
Apart from those in the ‘Manifesto group’ there was another section of the USC, together with SNM, SPM and other guerrilla forces that promoted a military settlement and dismissed any possibility of negotiations with Siad Barre. If Ali Mahdi can be seen as one of the forerunners of the Manifesto group, and thus a diplomatic solution to the conflict, Mohammed Farah “Aideed” (Habr Gedir/Hawiye), at least for the USC and thus the Hawiye clans, represented a military solution. Aideed was elected Chairman of USC at a conference in Mustahil, Ethiopia, in 1990. From that time on USC and SNM were cooperating militarily in order to overthrow Barre and together with SPM they had agreed on a power-sharing deal that would make Aideed (USC) President, Abdurahman Ahmed Ali Tuur (SNM) prime minister, and Omar Jess (SPM) minister of defense once they succeeded to take power.
By January 1991 victory was achieved, and Siad Barre was forced to flee Mogadishu as USC troops captured the capital. However, despite previously agreed-upon USC, SNM, and SPM plan, it was Ali Mahdi who seized power in Mogadishu and declared himself President of Somalia. In the aftermath of these events several of the groups that had previously united to fight a common enemy turned on one another, and a number of groups splintered. This was the start of a new phase of the conflict for control of Somalia. In the largely Isaaq clan inhabited territories that were formerly known as British Somalia, SNM declared secession and created the Republic of Somaliland, which has still only gained recognition from a handful of states. SSDF occupied the territories in the north-east that later became the internationally unrecognized Puntland state. This was the state of Somalia in the early 1990s and the context within which the conflict between SPM and SPM/SNA (Somali Patriotic Movement/Somali National Alliance) began.
Clashes between the two groups erupted in 1991. More clearly, the clashes can also be traced to the change in allegiances that started to take place during 1991 and early 1992. When two SPM leaders, General Gabiyo and General Morgan managed to expel the third leader, Colonel Omar Jess, the organization split in two. The first faction kept the name SPM and the other, which was led by Omar Jess, aligned itself with Aideed, forming SPM/SNA. The SPM, where General Morgan and General Gabiyo remained leading figures aligned itself with the Ali Mahdi faction USC/SSA.
Shortly after the split the two SPM factions started to compete over control of the port town Kismayo, which was considered a very important economic asset since it is the port closest to the Kenyan border. The May 1992 battles for control of the city were the first in a number of clashes to come.
In 1993 the conflict between SPM and SPM/SNA was settled at a conference in Galkayo. Before the conference started, Morgan’s troops had been able to capture Kismayo from Jess’s troops, who had lost their heavy weaponry when UNOSOM (United Nations Operation in Somalia) arrived. The fact that Morgan had been able to recapture Kismayo at a time when it was supposed to be guarded by UNOSOM caused strong criticism from the SPM/SNA and their allies in USC/SNA against the UN force, which they accused of being far from impartial. Prior to the conference UNOSOM had also criticized the forces allied with Aideed for attacking Kismayo, which made SPM/SNA and USC/SNA even more skeptical of the UN mission.
When the strength of SPM/SNA started to decline following the political reorientation of the Absame clan elders in 1994, by which they removed their support for Jess, the conflict between SPM and SPM/SNA also grew less violent. The process was also affected by the changes that took place within SPM, where the forces in Kismayo transformed from being a regular political movement into being loyal simply to General (for more information on this, see Forces of General Morgan). Since 1995, there are few references to a conflict between SPM and SPM/SNA.
The non-state conflict between SPM and SPM/SNA is first included in UCDP data in 1992. In May of that year violent clashes flared up in Kismayo, resulting in over 25 battle-related deaths.
