SUMMARY
In order to understand the context in which the conflict between USC/SNA (United Somali Congress/Somali National Alliance) and RRA (Rahanweyn Resistance Army) began it is vital to see it within the larger context of the Somali conflicts in the 1990s. Following the defeat of former Somali president Siad Barre in 1991 Ali Mahdi of the rebel group USC (United Somali Congress declared himself president. This decision went against a previous agreement between the plethoras of rebel groups, under which a power-sharing agreement was to place leaders from several groups in powerful positions. As a result, USC split into two factions, USC/SSA (United Somali Congress/Somali Salvation Army) led by Ali Mahdi which was in government, and USC/SNA which was led by Mohamed Farah ‘Aideed’. Some of the other rebel groups that had taken part in the rebellion against Barre, such as SNM (Somali National Movement) and SSDF (Somali Salvation and Democratic Front) gained control of territories in the north (SNM) and north-east (SSDF) respectively. Furthermore, there were a number of clan-based militias in the south and central parts of Somalia, such as SNF (Somali National Front), a Marehan subclan (Darod) based militia made up of supporters of the former Barre regime; SPM (Somali Patriotic Movement), an Ogaden clan (Darod) based militia which split at the end of 1991 into one faction supporting USC/SSA and the other USC/SNA; and finally SDM (Somali Democratic Movement), a Rahanweyn clan-based militia which was never really powerful and which split up and finally ceased to exist in 1993 after it suffered a fate similar to that of SPM, i.e. a division between those supporting USC/SSA and those supporting USC/SNA.
Adding to this scenario the so-called inter-riverine region of Somalia, made up of Bay and Bakool regions in the south-east, which often is referred to as Somalia’s breadbasket due to its fertile lands, suffered a conflict-induced failure of the harvest. The famine, which was a direct effect of the fleeing Barre regime’s scorched earth practices in the region, was worsened by the following instability and high levels of violence when different rebel groups and bandits caused mayhem in the region. As a result, famine hit the region with devastating power, with thousands of people perishing due to famine related disease and starvation. It was in this context that the international community acted by sending in firstly UNOSOM (United Nations Operation in Somalia) which was launched in April 1992 and aimed to stabilize Somalia and ensure the delivery of aid to those who suffered. UNOSOM was in March 1993 replaced by UNOSOM II which also succeeded the US-led, and UN-sanctioned, UNITAF (United Task Force) also known under the name Operation Restore Hope. UNOSOM II thus had a combined mandate of UNITAF’s stabilizing mission and UNOSOM I’s humanitarian one. While the mission was able to stabilize the situation in some areas of Somalia it also became seen by some parties as an actor in the conflict and as a result of that, UNOSOM suffered losses when attacked by Somali militias. In March 1995 UNOSOM II was disbanded.
In this context, where the international community was no longer present in Somalia, warlords continued to compete for control of the country. In the inter-riverine region the Rahanweyn community struck so devastatingly by the famine in the early 1990s, had started to organize politically, and in May 1995 declared the establishment of the Inter-riverine State. This decision was not appreciated by Mohamed Farah ‘Aideed’ and his USC/SNA which was at the time fighting to gain control of all of south Somalia. In September 1995, USC/SNA reacted to the Rahanweyn decision by occupying Baidoa (also known as Baydhabo), the largest city in Bay region, and killing or imprisoning a large part of the Rahanweyn leadership. In response, the Rahanweyn formed a militia of their own, RRA, and in October the conflict between USC/SNA and RRA turned violent.
The clashes between the groups mostly took the shape of light or heavily armed fighters, often using so-called ‘technicals’, pick-up trucks with a machine gun mounted on the back, launching an attack on the other group. Both parties were, at least at times, supported by foreign governments, RRA by Ethiopia, and USC/SNA by Eritrea, and were in this support given either training, arms or both. There are also reports of more massacre-styled killings where rebels captured a number of prisoners who were later executed.
The non-state conflict between RRA and USC/SNA is first included in UCDP data in 1995. In October of that year violent clashes flared up in Bay region in Somalia, resulting in over 25 battle-related deaths.
