This dyad belongs to the conflict Ethiopia: Sidamaland
Summary of conflict Ethiopia: Sidamaland
The conflict between SLM (Sidama Liberation Movement) and the Ethiopian government concerned the status of the Sidama land, with the rebels describing their struggle as one of self-determination for the Sidama people. Formed in the late 1970s, the rebels were trained and armed by Somalia. SLM conducted low-level guerrilla operations for some years and only became active in 1981. After a brutal Ethiopian counter-insurgency campaign the rebel group was by 1984 so weakened that it failed to make any further military impact.
Background to the conflict
The Sidama people inhabit a region in south-central Ethiopia which was incorporated into the Abyssian empire (present-day Ethiopia) by king Menelik II in the 1890s. During the Imperial regime of Haile Selassie (1930-36 and 1941-74) the region saw the gradual consolidation of central power, with the introduction of tax collection and army recruitment. When the Emperor was ousted in 1974 a military council – the Derg – seized power. The situation in Ethiopia subsequently turned increasingly chaotic, with bloody power rivalries within the Derg, a continuation of the conflict in the then-Ethiopian province Eritrea and the eruption of other rebellions in different regions throughout the country. Many of these rebellions had an ethnic foundation, with ethnically based rebel groups fighting for self-determination for their respective constituencies.
With Ethiopia experiencing internal difficulties, neighbouring Somalia saw the chance to realise its goal of incorporating what it termed “Western Somalia” – the Ogaden region and adjacent areas in south-eastern Ethiopia – into a “Greater Somalia” (for more information, see the section non the Ethiopia – Somalia interstate conflict). Apart from launching a regular invasion of the Ogaden in 1977, Mogadishu also pursued a parallel strategy of arming and training Ethiopian rebel groups fighting the Derg. The bulk of Somali support went to groups that they themselves had helped set up, notably WSLF (Western Somali Liberation Front) and SALF (Somali Abo Liberation Front). However, also smaller groupings received backing, as was the case with the SLM (Sidama Liberation Movement), which was formed in the context of ethnically- based rebellions in 1978.
The Sidama Liberation Movement
The circumstances surrounding the founding of SLM (Sidama Liberation Movement) are for the most part unknown. What seems relatively clear is that the group was formed in 1978, and that it was led by Wolde Emmanuel Dubale, a former chief administrator of the Sidamo region, but apart from this very little information on the early years of the struggle is available. Some sources indicate that the Sidama rebels were in fact one of the elements in SALF (Somali Abo Liberation Front), one of Somalia’s main proxies in south-eastern Ethiopia. They also claim that it was only with the breakdown of the latter group in 1981 that SLM started to operate more independently. Other sources refrain from making any comments regarding a potential joint history with SALF, simply making clear that SLM was one of the Ethiopian rebel groups that the Somali regime recognized and supported with arms and training.
The Armed Conflict
As with its formation, little is known about SLM’s armed struggle against the Derg (the military regime ruling Ethiopia). While it is clear that it launched its armed campaign as it received Somali support and recognition in 1978, details concerning this campaign are difficult to find. One of the reasons for this is that Ethiopia was the scene of no less than six conflicts during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Since SLM was one of the smallest rebel groups active, little attention was given to it during its first years of existence.
By 1981, SLM was becoming more active. In March, the army responded, bombarding the group's base in Chiirii woreda. According to the HRW, helicopter and airplane attacks caused at least 20 000 people in one valley to flee, and 1000 to 2000 were reported killed when a “wall of flames” was ignited by bombing using either phosphorous or ethylene.
On 26 November 1982, the army launched an offensive both in Sidamo region and in highland Harerghe, where the rebel group OLF (Oromo Liberation Front) was active. It continued into January the following year, and like many of the Derg’s other offensives around the country, this campaign was, apart from focusing on the rebel groups, specifically directed against the populations’ means of survival. It subsequently involved the poisoning and bombing of wells and water holes, burning of crops as well as machine gunning or confiscation of herds of cattle. Even further aggravating the situation for the civilian population was that the offensive took place during harvest time and those who were not killed were forced to live in relief shelters or flee to Somalia.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the brutality of the government offensive, SLM escalated its armed activities in early 1983, and February and March saw heavy fighting between the conflict parties. The army subsequently responded to the increase in SLM activity by drafting more troops to the region, but also by killing 100 civilians in the village of Halile in April in reprisal for SLM attacks.
Little detailed information is available on the fighting the following year, but the sources commenting on it agree that 1984 saw large government successes. The army re-captured most of the areas previously held by the rebels and the civilian population was forcibly relocated into relief shelters. By the end of the year, SLM had been so weakened that it could no longer make any military impact.
