United Somali Congress

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The United Somali Congress ( Italian Congresso della Somalia Unita , English United Somali Congress ; abbreviated USC ) was founded in 1989 by representatives of the Somali clan of the Hawiye in Rome after they had turned away from the Somali National Movement .

Its chairman was Ali Mahdi Mohammed , the military leader was Mohammed Farah Aidid . Another member was Musa Sudi Yalahow . The aim of the USC was to fight the authoritarian government of Somalia under Siad Barre , by which many Hawiye felt oppressed.

The fall of Barres by the USC and the subsequent split in the USC were significant for the development of the Somali civil war .

history

From 1989 the United Somali Congress led a rebellion against the government. Of the various movements operating against the Barre government (in addition to the USC, the SNM , SSDF and SPM ), he was particularly important in that he was active in and around the capital Mogadishu . This led Barre to leave Mogadishu on January 26, 1991.

The USC and other rebel movements had agreed in advance to form a joint follow-up government. This failed, however, when the USC claimed victory over Barre and thus the majority of power for itself. The other opposition groups did not recognize the Provisional Government formed by the USC.

A break occurred within the USC when the chairman Ali Mahdi Mohammed (of the Abgal-Hawiye subclan) proclaimed himself president without the consent of the military leader Aidid (Habar Gidir-Hawiye). As a result, fierce fighting broke out between the two leaders and their clans, especially in Mogadishu. Aidid formed the Somali National Alliance from his wing of the USC, along with other warring factions who joined him.

literature

  • Matthias Weber: The UN mission in Somalia. Political Science Series 1, mw-Verlag, ISBN 3-9805387-0-2