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 USC/SNA (United Somali Congress/Somali National Alliance) and SSDF began.
Just a few days after a ceasefire had been established between most of the major warring factions in early January 1992, clashes occurred between SSDF and USC/SNA troops in Mudug region in central Somalia. SSDF spokesperson Mohamed Abshir Walde claimed that the attack had been initiated by Mohamed Farah Aideed’s USC/SNA.
SSDF was at the time of the attack part of Ali Mahdi’s SSA (Somali Salvation Army) alliance. However, it is not clear what would be the tactical reason for USC/SNA to move further north in the country. The northern regions that were controlled by SSDF were, relatively speaking, much calmer than the southern parts of the country. Seen in comparison to the wider conflict in Somalia at that time this was only one of several clashes that violated the agreement to halt the armed struggle.
The non-state conflict between SSDF and USC/SNA is first included in UCDP data in 1993. In January of that year violent clashes flared up in the Mudug region, resulting in over 25 battle-related deaths.
