Somali National Movement

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The Somali National Movement ( German  for Somali National Movement , SNM ) was a political and military organization in northern Somalia . It emerged in the 1980s as a rebel movement of the Isaaq clan against the Siad Barres government and led the uprising in northern Somalia , which after the fall of Barres in 1991 led to the area being declared independence as Somaliland .

Monument in the form of a MiG for the 1988 bombings in Hargeysa

history

The Somali National Movement was founded in 1981 by opposition Somalis, mostly members of the Isaaq - Clans , in exile in London founded with the aim of the government of Somalia under Siad Barre overthrow. This was against the background that many Isaaq as a clan and region felt marginalized and oppressed by the authoritarian government. At first Hawiye were also involved in the SNM, but they left the organization in 1986. So it was essentially shaped by the Isaaq.

The SNM turned against the economic and political disadvantages felt by the government by many residents of northern Somalia, especially the Isaaq. She strove for the disempowerment of Siad Barre and the establishment of a democratic system; at least until 1988 it was not oriented towards separatism. In contrast to the government policy, which was at times anti-religious, it emphasized the importance of Islam for Somali society, but was not Islamist. In terms of foreign policy, the SNM initially refused to allow the country to align itself with both the Soviet Union and the USA and advocated the abolition of the unpopular military base in Berbera , which was formerly used by the Soviet Union and now by the USA . Towards the end of the 1980s she switched to a pro-Western foreign policy and advocated US participation in Somalia after the end of Barre's rule. The positions of the SNM found favor in large parts of the North Somali / Isaaq population.

The main base of the SNM was Ethiopia , hostile to Somalia , which at that time supported various opposition movements against the Somali government. Military actions by the SNM against the Barre government began on January 2, 1982, when Mandera prison near Berbera was attacked from bases in Ethiopia and political and other prisoners held there were freed. The government responded by imposing a state of emergency and various restrictions on northern Somalia. However, these measures could not stop the SNM. To remove the support base for the rebels, Barre finally visited the region in February 1983, released political prisoners , lifted the state of emergency and announced an amnesty for Somalis who wanted to return from exile.

From 1984 onwards, the SNM adopted a more aggressive strategy and attacked government military facilities at Hargeysa , Burao and Berbera. Further SNM operations in 1985/1986 prompted Siad Barre to undertake international efforts to prevent foreign, namely Libyan and South Yemeni, support for the SNM. In 1987, SNM units captured eleven MSF employees to raise awareness of the Somali government 's army of forcibly recruiting men from refugee camps; after ten days the hostages were released. Barre responded to the continued activities of the SNM by deploying tough security measures in northern Somalia. Nomadic communities in the Ethiopian-Somali border region suspected of supporting the SNM have been displaced.

The minority clans of the Gadabursi- Dir and the Dolbohanta- Darod as well as refugees from the Ethiopian Ogaden partly supported the government against the SNM. Sometimes this was done voluntarily, sometimes they were forcibly recruited.

Nevertheless, by February 1988 the SNM was able to bring three villages around Togochale and a refugee camp near the border under its control. In the same year, an easing of relations between Ethiopia and Somalia meant that the SNM - like other Somali rebel movements - had to leave their military bases on Ethiopian territory. She then began a major offensive in northern Somalia and was able to bring large areas under her control, but lost around half of her fighters. The government army's subsequent reprisals against the Isaaq included summary executions, rape and the deliberate destruction of wells and pastures, culminating in the bombing of Burao and Hargeysa . Around 50,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands fled to Ethiopia. As a result, the SNM received significantly more support from the population than before.

At the same time, other rebel movements such as the SSDF of the Majerteen- Darod , the USC of the Hawiye and the SPM of the Ogadeni-Darod of the Barre government were increasingly attacking the Barre government in southern and central Somalia . The SNM agreed with these organizations to form a transitional government after the fall of Barres. In 1991, Barre was finally deposed. The formation of a successor government failed, however, when the USC initially claimed victory over Barre and thus the majority of power for itself and then fell apart in the power struggle between Mohammed Farah Aidid and Ali Mahdi Mohammed . In addition, the USC in particular committed acts of revenge against civilians from the Darod clan, the Siad Barres clan.

On the part of the SNM, there were several summary trials and executions of government soldiers for alleged war crimes. During fighting against Gadabursi militias, the village of Dilla in the Awdal region was destroyed and an SNM unit attacked the Warsangeli Darod settlement of Hadaftimo in Sanaag. Overall, however, the SNM did not take revenge on the other North Somali clans and instead initiated a process of reconciliation. To do this, she resorted to traditional peacemaking mechanisms. At a meeting of clan elders led by the SNM in Burao in 1991 the unilateral declaration of independence of northern Somalia as Somaliland was passed. This step was originally not planned by the SNM leadership and was made under pressure from the public, which, due to the war experience, rejected the unity with southern and central Somalia by a majority. Together with the declaration of independence, a “National Charter” was passed, according to which the SNM should exercise power for the next two years. A new constitution was then to be drawn up under which power would pass to an elected government. The then SNM leader Abd-ar-Rahman Ahmad Ali Tur became the first president.

During the two years of Tur's presidency, conflicts arose between various factions and subclans of the Isaaq within the SNM. These were settled at a further conference in 1993. At this conference, power was transferred from the SNM to a civilian government under Mohammed Haji Ibrahim Egal , which drove the democratization of Somaliland.

To this day, SNM veterans hold important positions in Somaliland politics . They are particularly represented in the Kulmiye party.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. Bradbury 2008 (pp. 80-82)
  2. Ioan Lewis: Understanding Somalia and Somaliland , 2008, ISBN 978-1-85065-898-6 (p. 75)

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