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Somali Democratic Republic

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Somali Democratic Republic
  • Jamhuuriyadda Dimuqraadiga Soomaaliyeed (Somali)
  • جمهورية الصومال الديمقراطية (Arabic)
  • Repubblica Democratica Somala (Italian)
1969–1991
Anthem: Soomaaliya Ha Noolaato (Somali)
"National anthem of Somalia"
Location of Somalia
CapitalMogadishu
Official languagesSomali
Common languages
Religion
Sunni Islam
DemonymSomali
GovernmentUnitary communist state[1]
President 
• 1969–1991
Siad Barrea
Vice President 
• 1976–1991
Mohammad Ali Samatar
Historical eraCold War
Arab Cold War
21 October 1969
13 July 1977
9 April 1978
1982-1983
26 January 1991
Area
• Total
637,657[2] km2 (246,201 sq mi) (40th)
Population
• 1972[3]
2,941,000
CurrencySomali shilling[4] (SOS)
Calling code252
ISO 3166 codeSO
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Somali Republic
Interim Government of Somalia
Republic of Somaliland
Today part ofSomalia
Somalilandb
  1. Chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Council from 1969 to 1976 and after 1980.
  2. Somaliland is not internationally recognized. Its territory is considered part of Somalia. Somaliland authorities, however, hold de facto power in the region.
This article is part of a series about
Siad Barre

President of Somalia
(1969–1991)

Overthrow

The Somali Democratic Republic (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Dimuqraadiga Soomaaliyeed; Arabic: جمهورية الصومال الديمقراطية; Italian: Repubblica Democratica Somala) was a Marxist-Leninist state in Somalia that existed from 1969 to 1991.

Established in October 1969, the Somali Democratic Republic emerged following a coup d'état led by Major General Mohamed Siyaad Barre and the Somali military.[5][6][7][8] The coup took place six days after the assassination of Abdirashid Shermarke, the second President of the Somali Republic.[7] Barre's administration governed Somalia for the next 21 years until the rise of Ethiopian-backed Somali rebel groups, which ultimately led to the government's collapse and the onset of civil war in 1991.[9]

History

[edit]
Part of a series on the
History of Somalia
A 16th century map of Somalia by Jan Huyghen
Prehistory
Ancient
(c. 1st century)
Middle Ages
Early modern
flag Somalia portal

Coup d'etat

[edit]
Main article: 1969 Somali coup d'état

Abdirashid Shermarke, the 2nd president of Somalia, was assassinated outside the municipal headquarters of Las Anod in Northern Somalia on 15 October 1969. Shermarke had been visiting drought-stricken areas in the northeast when the assassin, Said Yusuf Ismail, shot and killed him.[10]

Henry Kissinger, then United States National Security Advisor, concluded that the assassin acted independently.[11] Sharmarke was elected in 1964 with support from the Soviet Union and other communist states during his campaign.[12]

On 21 October 1969, at 3:00 a.m., General Siyaad, Jama Ali Korshel, Salaad Gabeyre Kediye, Mohamed Ainanshe Guled, and the military overthrew the parliamentary government of the prior Somali republic. In the 1969 Somali coup d'état.[13] One of the primary causes of the coup was widespread corruption, and mishandling of public funds within the Somali government. Consequently, many members of the police and armed forces had become disillusioned with the direction of the country.[14]

Proclamation of coup by the Supreme Revolutionary Council

The assassin, of former President Abdirashid Shermarke Ismail, was tried, tortured, and executed by the Supreme Revolutionary Council. Notably, Ismail shared the same clan background as President Shermarke.[15]

Early years

[edit]

In 1970, one year after the coup, Siad Barre declared Somalia to be a socialist state and set upon the 'Somalization' of the country, essentially a grand scheme to diminish clan loyalties and create a 'dutiful Somali' country.[16][17] The Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC), which came to power following President Shermarke's assassination, was led by Lieutenant General Salaad Gabeyre Kediye and Chief of Police Jama Ali Korshel. Kediye held the official title of "Father of the Revolution", and shortly thereafter, Barre became the head of the SRC.[18] The SRC arrested members of the former civilian government, banned political parties, dissolved the National Assembly, and suspended the constitution.[19][4]

Literacy campaign

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The Somali revolutionary army initiated large-scale public works programs in 1972, and successfully implemented an urban and rural literacy campaign, thus significantly increasing the literacy rate. By 1986 the literacy rate in Somalia was said to be 60% due to the massive success of this campaign.[20]

In addition to a nationalization program for industry and land, the new regime's foreign policy emphasized Somalia's traditional and religious ties with the Arab world, leading to its eventual membership in the Arab League (AL) in 1974.[21] That same year, Barre also served as chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the predecessor of the African Union (AU).[22] Somalia also initially adhered to a populist communist philosophy. Consequently, Barre's regime lent support to various anti-colonial movements, including the rebellion in South Africa against that country's then-ruling apartheid government. As chairman of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1974, a rotating seat, Barre invited the ANC as an equal member and gave them a platform to have their voices heard. Barre's government also trained South African guerillas and gave them access to military hardware and naval assets.[23]

On July 1976, Barre’s SRC disbanded and established the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP) as a one-party government based on scientific socialism and Somali-Islamic principles. The SRSP aimed to reconcile the official state ideology with the official state religion, emphasizing Islamic principles of social progress, equality, and justice. The government argued that these principles formed the core of scientific socialism, along with a focus on self-sufficiency, public participation, popular control, and direct ownership of the means of production. While the SRSP encouraged limited private investment, the administration's overall direction was proclaimed as socialist.[4]

Operations and relations in Africa (Mozambique, Rhodesia, Zambia and Burundi)

[edit]

During their early communist phase, Siad Barre and his military junta were initially quite supportive of various fledgling administrations and anti-colonial movements. In 1974, the Somali government invited trainee pilots and technicians from Burundi for a two-year-long capacity training programme with the Somali Air Force, which at that time was one of the strongest air powers on the continent. Before their training, the Burundi Air Force consisted of only three pilots who had received training in Egypt and France. This number grew to 18 with the help of Somali pilots and instructors.[24][25]

Barre was also the only head of state to attend Mozambique's independence celebrations. Along with the Soviet Union and Cuba, Barre also sent martial reinforcements to assist the government of Samora Machel against Rhodesian and Portuguese forces. Rhodesian guerrillas in Maputo at the time "bragged to Portuguese correspondents that Somali tanks will be used in future operations against Ian Smith’s forces.[26] In their struggle against the Rhodesians, Zambia appealed to other African countries for military support. On 27 June 1977, President Kenneth David Kaunda speaking to a crowd of Zambians in Lusaka announced that Somalia's armed forces were prepared to aid his country against the Rhodesians.[27] Somali Air Force pilots stood on standby to fly Zambian MiGs in case of a war.[28]

Despite these relations, however, Barre's administration was also one of the few governments on the continent that maintained regular and extensive contacts with South Africa's apartheid regime. The Somali government would grow increasingly closer with the RSA during the 1980s, as it progressively abandoned its initial communist philosophy. After fallout from the unsuccessful Ogaden War campaign, Mogadishu now sought new allies and approached Pretoria for assistance. Barre viewed the South African government as a potential partner on account of the RSA's own military struggle against communist forces. A South African delegation was subsequently hosted in Somalia's capital in May 1984, where the Somali Defense Minister declared that "RSA and Somalia have the same aggressors". Sharing of military intelligence characterized the two administrations' relationship. The South African government also hoped to secure a position as an armaments supplier for the Somali military, with a view toward using Somalia as an entree into the Middle Eastern weapons market.[29]

Ogaden War

[edit]
Main articles: Ogaden War and Somali invasion of Ogaden
The Somali–Soviet Union friendship and later partnership with the United States enabled Somalia to build the largest mechanised army on the continent.[30]

On 13 July 1977, the Ogaden War against Ethiopia erupted when Barre's government aimed to annex the predominantly Somali-inhabited Ogaden region into a Pan-Somali Greater Somalia. This conflict was part of a broader SNA initiative to unify all Somali territories, known as Soomaaliweyn. The USSR, finding itself initially supplying both sides of the war, attempted to mediate a ceasefire. When their efforts failed, the Soviets abandoned Somalia. All aid to Siad Barre's regime was halted, while arms shipments to Ethiopia were increased. Soviet military aid (second in magnitude only to the October 1973 gigantic resupplying of Syrian forces during the Yom Kippur War) and advisors flooded into the country along with around 15,000 Cuban combat troops. Other communist countries offered assistance: the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen offered military assistance and North Korea helped train a "People's Militia"; East Germany likewise offered training, engineering and support troops.[31] As the scale of communist assistance became clear in November 1977, Somalia broke diplomatic relations with the USSR and expelled all Soviet citizens from the country.

The estimated territory of Greater Somalia.

In the first week of the war, the Somali National Army achieved remarkable victories over Ethiopian forces. Such as the Battle of Jijiga in mid September 1977.[32] Somalia was easily overpowering Ethiopian military hardware and technology capability. Army General Vasily Petrov of the Soviet Armed Forces had to report back to Moscow the "sorry state" of the Ethiopian army. The 3rd and 4th Ethiopian Infantry Divisions that suffered the brunt of the Somali invasion had practically ceased to exist.[33] This initial success surprised many American military observers who maintained a neutral stance. Southern and central Ogaden were quickly captured, and throughout much of the conflict, the Somali Army continued to defeat the Ethiopian Army, advancing as far as Sidamo and Bale. By September 1977, Somalia controlled 90% of the Ogaden, capturing strategic cities like Jijiga and exerting heavy pressure on Dire Dawa, thereby threatening the train route from that city to Djibouti.

Because of the Sino-Soviet rivalry, China supported Somalia diplomatically and with token military aid. Romania under Nicolae Ceauşescu had a habit of breaking with Soviet policies and maintained good diplomatic relations with Siad Barre. By 17 August, elements of the Somali army had reached the outskirts of the strategic city of Dire Dawa. Not only was the country's second largest military airbase located here, as well as Ethiopia's crossroads into the Ogaden, but Ethiopia's rail lifeline to the Red Sea ran through this city, and if the Somalis held Dire Dawa, Ethiopia would be unable to export its crops or bring in equipment needed to continue the fight. Gebre Tareke estimates the Somalis advanced with two motorized brigades, one tank battalion and one BM battery upon the city; against them were the Ethiopian Second Militia Division, the 201 Nebelbal battalion, 781 battalion of the 78th Brigade, the 4th Mechanized Company, and a tank platoon possessing two tanks.[34] Following the siege of Harar, a massive and unprecedented Soviet intervention occurred, involving 20,000 Cuban troops and several thousand Soviet advisers supporting Ethiopia's communist Derg regime. On 15 March 1978, a ceasefire was negotiated, bringing an end to the war. This shift in Soviet support prompted the Barre government to seek new allies, eventually turning to the United States, which had been courting Somalia for some time as a counter to Soviet influence. Ultimately, Somalia's initial alliance with the Soviet Union and subsequent partnership with the United States enabled it to build the largest army in Africa.[35]

Coup attempt

[edit]
Main article: 1978 Somali coup attempt
Portrait of Somali president Siad Barre around the year 1970

On 9 April 1978 a coup was attempted,[36] against the Somali government of President Siad Barre. The United States Central Intelligence Agency estimated that the coup, led by former Colonel Mohamed Osman Irro, alongside him Lieutenant Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed who both served in the Ogaden war, involved around 24 officers, 2,000 soldiers, and 65 tanks.

Gunfire broke out in the city of Afgooye, south of the capital Mogadishu, small arms fire and explosions were heard on the outskirts of the capital.[37] The coup was originally planned to start in Hargeisa, a city in northern Somalia, but Barre likely knew of the attempt in advance and was able to disrupt the coup before it launched, as well as position forces loyal to himself in the capital.[38] The attempted coup ended in a disastrous failure, 17 alleged ringleaders, including Osman, were summarily executed by firing squad,[39] and Abdullahi Yusuf fled to the neighboring country of Ethiopia, which was considered an enemy by the Somali government.[40] Barre used the coup as justification to purge certain members belonging to the same clan as the men involved in the coup from government and military positions.[41]

Aftermath

[edit]

After fleeing Somalia Abdullahi Yusuf and his men would find an armed anti-Siad Barre militia backed by the Derg regime in Ethiopia,[42] 'created, organized, trained and financed by Ethiopia'.[43] Initially called the Somali Salvation Front (SSF; later the Somali Salvation Democratic Front, SSDF),[44] which would soon oppose the Somali government. Barre blamed the coup attempt on the Eastern Bloc, namely the Soviet Union and Cuba, countries that supported Ethiopia in the Ogaden War, he labeled them "new imperialists".[37] The CIA determined that the Soviet Union was not behind the coup attempt, but were ultimately seeking to remove Barre from rule.[45]

1982 Ethiopian–Somali Border War

[edit]

Between June and August 1982 the Ethiopian military, supported by hundreds of SSDF rebels led by Abdullahi Yusuf invaded central Somalia. After a SNA force infiltrated the Ogaden, joined with the WSLF and attacked an Ethiopian army unit outside Shilabo, about 150 kilometers northwest of Beled weyne, Ethiopia retaliated by launching an operation against Somalia.

Somali National Army soldier stands between two captured Ethiopian BTR-60 armored carriers that were disabled in battle

On June 30, 1982, Ethiopian army units, together with SSDF guerrillas, struck at several points along Ethiopia's southern border with Somalia, the operation initially aimed to advance all the way to the Somali coastline[46] and ultimately overthrow the Barre regime.[47] Which ended in a Stalemate at border towns of Galdogob and Balanbale about 50 kilometers northwest of Galcaio. Further Ethiopian attacks were repulsed by the SNA. Although Ethiopia aligned with the SSDF rebels had a larger army then the SNA,[48] with approximately 10,000 to 15,000 Ethiopian troops, equipped with Soviet-supplied MIG fighters and T-55 tanks, launched an invasion,[49][50] and were accompanied by 2,000 to 5,000 Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) rebels, who were similarly armed with tanks and received support from Ethiopian artillery and air forces.[50][51]Ethiopian troops and SSDF Rebels failed to capture the key cities of Galkayo and Beledweyne, as the Somali army successfully repelled the main assault.[52] Due to Siad Barre’s efforts there was an upsurge in domestic support for Somali President Siad Barre during the 1982 Ethiopian–Somali Border War.[53]

Ethiopian officer's notes for a June 1982 offensive, analyzed by Somali Army intelligence. Symbols at the page's base depict three divisions at a start line. In Amharic, notes mention BTRs moving in line, 100 troops per row, advancing in depth through a mined area before attacking. The document was captured in a failed assault.

Collapse

[edit]
Main article: Somali Civil War

In 1979, a new constitution was introduced, leading to elections for a People's Assembly. Despite this, Barre's Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP) continued to maintain control.[6] In October 1980, the SRSP was disbanded, and the Supreme Revolutionary Council was re-established in its place.[4] The regime weakened further in the 80's as the Cold War drew to a close, diminishing Somalia's strategic importance.

The government's totalitarian grip[54][55] culminated in the Isaaq genocide (1987–1989), in response to the attacks the Somali government suffered by militant groups such as the 1970 Zeila uprising (done by Mohamed Farah Dalmar Yusuf subsequent key member of the SNM) and later bombings within the city of Hargeisa by the Somali National Movement (SNM) a militant rebel organization backed by Ethiopia of predominantly Isaaq supporters. This response which devastated several major cities and at timws targeted members of the Isaaq clan. Civilian death estimates range from 50,000 to 100,000.[56][57][58] Groups opposed to Barre’s regime predominantly supported by Ethiopia, emerged across the country and eventually led to the Somali Civil War. Among these militia groups were the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF),[44] the United Somali Congress (USC),[59] the Somali National Movement (SNM), and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), alongside non-violent political opposition such as the Somali Democratic Movement (SDM), the Somali Democratic Alliance (SDA) and the Somali Manifesto Group (SMG). On the 26th of January 1991, Barre was ousted from power, and subsequently Somalia immediately descended into chaos in the wake of civil war.[citation needed]

New constitution

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A new Constitution was ratified on 25 August 1979 through a popular referendum, leading to elections for a People's Assembly. This Constitution established a presidential system, wherein the president served as both the head of state and the head of government. As head of government, the president appointed the members of the Council of Ministers, which he chaired. Initially, the Constitution stipulated that the president would be elected for a six-year renewable term by a two-thirds majority vote of the legislature.[60]

Government

[edit]

The Somali Democratic Republic functioned as a unitary republic under the Marxist-Leninist single-party rule of first the Supreme Revolutionary Council, then the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party.[61] The only serving president, Siad Barre, exercised totalitarian control over the country through a military dictatorship.[62][63][64]

President

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Prime Ministers

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  • Mohamed Farah Salad (November 1, 1969 – March 1970)
  • Post abolished (March 1970 – February 1, 1987)
  • Muhammad Ali Samatar (February 1, 1987 – September 3, 1990)
  • Muhammad Hawadle Madar (September 3, 1990 – January 24, 1991)

References

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  1. ^ "AFRICAN MARXIST MILITARY REGIMES, RISE AND FALL: INTERNAL CONDITIONERS AND INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS". Brazilian Journal of African Studies. 2020. Retrieved 2025-03-05. […] Military Coups of a new type, which introduced revolutionary regimes self-declared Marxist-Leninist. This is the case of Somalia (1969) and Ethiopia (1974), the most emblematic case, but also of four french-speaking countries: Congo-Brazzaville (1968), Daomey/Benin (1972-74), Madagascar (1975) and Alto Volta/Burkina Faso (1983).
  2. ^ "The 1991 CIA World Factbook" – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ Census, United States Bureau of the (December 23, 1980). "World Population 1979: Recent Demographic Estimates for the Countries and Regions of the World". The Bureau – via Google Books.
  4. ^ a b c d Lynch, Barry (1982). "The Somali Democratic Republic. The One That Got Away". In Wiles, Peter (ed.). The New Communist Third World: An Essay in Political Economy. Croom Helm. pp. 278–279. ISBN 0-7099-2709-6.
  5. ^ Clapham, Christopher (1984). "The Horn of Africa". In Crowder, Michael (ed.). The Cambridge History of Africa. Vol. 8: From c. 1940 to c. 1975. Cambridge University Press. p. 475.
  6. ^ a b The Encyclopedia Americana. Vol. 25: Skin to Sumac. Grolier. 2001. p. 214. ISBN 978-0-7172-0134-1. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  7. ^ a b Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations. Vol. 2: Africa. Gale Research. 1995. p. 368. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
  8. ^ Permanent Mission of the Somali Republic to the United Nations. "Country Facts | Somalia". www.un.int. United Nations. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  9. ^ Cordesman, Anthony H. (2019). The Gulf And The Search For Strategic Stability. Taylor & Francis. p. 797. ISBN 9781000302066.
  10. ^ Ingiriis, Mohamed Haji (April–June 2017). "Who Assassinated the Somali President in October 1969? The Cold War, the Clan Connection, or the Coup d'État". African Security. 10 (2). Taylor & Francis: 131–132. doi:10.1080/19392206.2017.1305861. JSTOR 48598936.
  11. ^ Kissinger, Henry (20 October 1969). Political Implication of Assassination of Somali President (PDF) (memorandum). Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  12. ^ Central Intelligence Bulletin (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 12 June 1967. p. 6. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  13. ^ Lewis, I. M. (October 1972). "The Politics of the 1969 Somali Coup". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 10 (3). Cambridge University Press: 383–408. doi:10.1017/S0022278X0002364X (inactive 18 September 2025).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of September 2025 (link)
  14. ^ L. Daniels, Christopher (2012). Somali Piracy and Terrorism in the Horn of Africa. Scarecrow Press. p. 11. ISBN 9780810883109. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  15. ^ Adan Sheikh, Mohamed (1991). Arrivederci a Mogadiscio (in Italian). Edizioni associate. p. 76. ISBN 9788826700700.
  16. ^ Mohamed Haji Ingiriis (1 April 2016). The Suicidal State in Somalia: The Rise and Fall of the Siad Barre Regime, 1969–1991. UPA. pp. 74–. ISBN 978-0-7618-6720-3.
  17. ^ Thomas M. Leonard (2006). Encyclopedia of the Developing World. Taylor & Francis. pp. 1405–. ISBN 978-0-415-97664-0.
  18. ^ Adam, Hussein Mohamed; Richard Ford (1997). Mending rips in the sky: options for Somali communities in the 21st century. Red Sea Press. p. 226. ISBN 1-56902-073-6.
  19. ^ Metz, Helen Chapin, ed. (1993). Somalia: A Country Study. Area handbook series. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-0-8444-0775-3. LCCN 93016246. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  20. ^ The World Factbook 1986 (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 1986. p. 223. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  21. ^ Frankel, Benjamin, ed. (1992). The Cold War 1945-1991. Vol. 2: Leaders and Other Important Figures in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China, and the Third World. Gale Research. p. 306. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  22. ^ Oihe Yang, Africa South of the Sahara 2001, 30th ed. (Taylor and Francis: 2000), p. 1025.
  23. ^ Somalia needs African solidarity
  24. ^ "Nostalgic memories of Burundian officers trained in Somalia".
  25. ^ AMISOM Issue 25, 31 March 2011
  26. ^ MOSCOW’S NEXT TARGET IN AFRICA by Robert Moss
  27. ^ Facts & reports , Volume 7
  28. ^ World, Volume 2 Pg 20
  29. ^ Roger Pfister, Apartheid South Africa and African states: from pariah to middle power, 1961–1994, Volume 14, (I.B.Tauris, 2005), pp.114-117.
  30. ^ Oliver Ramsbotham, Tom Woodhouse, Encyclopedia of international peacekeeping operations, (ABC-CLIO: 1999), p.222.
  31. ^ "Ethiopia: East Germany". Library of Congress. 2005-11-08. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  32. ^ Bruce D. Porter (1986-07-25). The USSR in Third World Conflicts: Soviet Arms and Diplomacy in Local Wars. Cambridge University Press. pp. 185–186. ISBN 9780521310642.
  33. ^ Soviet intervention and the Ogaden counter-offensive of 1978 by Mark Urban pg 42
  34. ^ Gebru Tareke, "Ethiopia-Somalia War," p. 645.
  35. ^ Oliver Ramsbotham, Tom Woodhouse, Encyclopedia of International Peacekeeping Operations, (ABC-CLIO: 1999), p. 222. [ISBN missing]
  36. ^ "Coup in Ethiopia Seems to Be a Failure, Diplomats Say". The Washington Post. 10 April 1978. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  37. ^ a b "SOMALI REGIME SAYS IT CRUSHED A REVOLT BY MILITARY OFFICERS". The New York Times. 10 April 1978. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  38. ^ "The Coup Attempt in Somalia: Background" (PDF). cia.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. 8 May 1978. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  39. ^ "1978: Seventeen officers in Somalia". ExecutedToday.com. 26 October 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  40. ^ New People Media Centre (Nairobi, Kenya), New people, Issues 94–105, (New People Media Centre: Comboni Missionaries, 2005).
  41. ^ "The Coup Attempt in Somalia: Background" (PDF). cia.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. 8 May 1978. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  42. ^ Issa-Salwe 1996, pp. 128–129.
  43. ^ Northeast African Studies. Vol. 11. African Studies Center, Michigan State University. 1989. p. 92.
  44. ^ a b Nina J. Fitzgerald, Somalia: issues, history, and bibliography, (Nova Publishers: 2002), p.25.
  45. ^ "The Coup Attempt in Somalia: Background" (PDF). cia.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. 8 May 1978. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  46. ^ Prunier, Gérard (2021). The Country that Does Not Exist: A History of Somaliland. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-78738-203-9. Ethiopian Army troops and about 2,000 SSDF guerrillas attacked Somalia across the Mudug border, aiming for Galkayo in the north-east and Beletweyn in the centre. The plan was to cut Somalia into two by driving troops all the way to the ocean
  47. ^ "Somalia: Taking Stock". Africa Confidential. 23 (17): 8. 25 August 1982. the Ethiopian aim was to provide the DFSS with the wherewithal to overthrow President Siad Barre
  48. ^ Prunier, Gérard (2021). The Country that Does Not Exist: A History of Somaliland. Oxford University Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-78738-203-9.
  49. ^ Prunier, Gérard (2021). The Country that Does Not Exist: A History of Somaliland. Oxford University Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-78738-203-9.
  50. ^ a b Langellier, Jean-Pierre (14 November 1982). "Somalis and Ethiopians slog it out to stalemate". Le Monde. p. 12.
  51. ^ Metz 1993, p. 47.
  52. ^ Laitin, David D.; Samatar, Said S. (1987). Somalia: Nation in Search of a State. Profiles. Avalon Publishing. p. 159. ISBN 978-0-86531-555-6. Yet Siyaad surprised friends and foes alike by turning both events to advantage. His army vigorously repulsed the invaders...
  53. ^ Tareke, Gebru (2009). The Ethiopian Revolution: War in the Horn of Africa. Yale University Press. p. 193. ISBN 9780300141634.
  54. ^ Prunier, Gérard (1996-01-01). "Somalia: Civil War, Intervention and Withdrawal (1990–1995)". Refugee Survey Quarterly. 15 (1): 35–85. doi:10.1093/rsq/15.1.35. ISSN 1020-4067.
  55. ^ "Somalia's Descent into Mobocracy". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  56. ^ Peifer, Douglas C. (2009). Stopping Mass Killings in Africa: Genocide, Airpower, and Intervention. Diane Publishing. ISBN 9781437912814.
  57. ^ Straus, Scott (2015). Making and Unmaking Nations: The Origins and Dynamics of Genocide in Contemporary Africa. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801455674.
  58. ^ Jones, Adam (2017). Genocide, war crimes and the West: history and complicity. Zed Books. ISBN 9781842771914.
  59. ^ Biddle, Stephen D (26 July 2022). Nonstate warfare : the military methods of guerillas, warlords, and militias. Princeton University Press. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-691-21666-9. OCLC 1328017938. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  60. ^ "Somalia". Mongabay.com. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  61. ^ "AFRICAN MARXIST MILITARY REGIMES, RISE AND FALL: INTERNAL CONDITIONERS AND INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS". seer.ufrgs.br/rbea/article/download/97061/58862. Brazilian Journal of African Studies. 2020. Retrieved 2025-03-08. […] Military Coups of a new type, which introduced revolutionary regimes self-declared Marxist-Leninist. This is the case of Somalia (1969) and Ethiopia (1974), the most emblematic case, but also of four french-speaking countries: Congo-Brazzaville (1968), Daomey/Benin (1972-74), Madagascar (1975) and Alto Volta/Burkina Faso (1983).
  62. ^ Khalif, Abdulkadir (2024-10-26). "Somalia tortuous and elusive long road to true democracy". Theeastafrican. The East African. Retrieved 2025-02-10. In January 1991, Siad Barre's totalitarian rule was defeated. But, rather than uniting his enemies, it worsened the crisis.
  63. ^ "A STUDY OF DECENTRALIZED POLITICAL STRUCTURES FOR SOMALIA*: A MENU OF OPTIONS" (PDF). Peacemake.un.org. London School of Economics and Political Science. August 1995. Retrieved 2025-02-10. In October 1969, General Mohamed Siad Barre took over in a military coup. Siad Barre developed a highly centralised, totalitarian state, and tried unsuccessfully to abolish clan behaviour.
  64. ^ "AFRICAN MARXIST MILITARY REGIMES, RISE AND FALL: INTERNAL CONDITIONERS AND INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS". Brazilian Journal of African Studies. 2020. Retrieved 2025-03-05. In contrast to Angola and Mozambique, where the Marxist component was associated with National Liberation Movements, those in Ethiopia and Somalia, as well as the four Francophone States, had Marxist Military Revolutions/Regimes after more than a decade of independence.

Further reading

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