Somali National Alliance

During the mid to late 1980s various insurgencies of growing intensity would begin opposing the regime of Siad Barre that had ruled Somalia since 1969. Human rights abuses and atrocities by the regime during events like the 1988 Hargeisa-Burao offensive and Mogadishu riots of July 1989 inflamed insurgency. Formed in 1987, the United Somali Congress (USC) led by Gen. Mohamed Farah Aidid, played a leading role in toppling the government in Mogadishu in January 1991. The USC would split following a clash over the leadership of the new government between Aidid and Ali Mahdi Muhamed.[1]

Reports that former President Siad Barres organization, the Somali National Front (SNF), was planning to retake Mogadishu led to the creation of a coalition consisting of four rebel groups: Aidids wing of the United Somali Congress (USC), the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), the Somali Democratic Movement (SDM) and the Somali Southern National Movement (SSNM).[2] On 17 April 1992 the Somali National Alliances short-lived predecessor, a military coalition known as the Somali Liberation Army (SLA), was formed.[3] Brigadier General Mohamed Farah Aidid would be elected chairman of the SLA that same day.[4]

The coalition was created with the express goal of preventing Barre from retaking the capital and to further push the last remnants of his troops out of Somalia.[3] Fierce back and forth fighting between SLA forces (led by General Aidid) and SNF forces loyal to President Barre in the fertile inter-riverine areas of southern Somalia would consequently result in the devastating 1992 famine.[5] Looting of grain stores in the region carried out by the Somali National Front prompted many Rahanweyn communities to begin joining the SNA during 1992.[6] According to SNA accounts of the final clashes, SNF forces outnumbered the Somali Liberation Army coalition over six times, but were ambushed and encircled when they left their base in Baidoa and came within 50km from Mogadishu. Following the defeat, Barres forces were routed into southern Somalia until they were pushed out into Kenya by the SLA on 29 April 1992.[3][7] According to the SLA, over 500 of Barres troops were taken as prisoners of war and then turned over to the Red Cross.[3]

On 14 May 1992, the SLA seized the strategically important southern port city of Kismayo, and three days later former President Barre would flee to Nigeria.[8][9] Early on in June 1992 the coalition would publicly announce that it would never accept the deployment of foreign troops on Somali soil, but welcomed and requested humanitarian aid.[10]

Following the defeat of Siad Barres forces, on 16 June 1992 the SLA was phased out and the politico-military organization known as the Somali National Alliance was founded by the same four rebel groups of the SLA in the town of Bardere.[3][7] The Somali Liberation Army would instead morph into the military wing of the newly founded SNA.[11][12][13]

Primary clan composition of the SNA:

• USC Aidid faction: Habr Gidr, Xawadle, Duduble, Gaalje'el and Ogaden sub clans[14][15]
• SPM: Ogaden and Majerteen[14]
• SDM: Rahanweyn and Digil[14]
• SSNM: Bimaal and southern Dir[14]

The SNA was the first major inter-clan and inter-factional political alliance of the Somali Civil War.[16] The organization professed the aim of working toward forming a national reconciliation government and an eventual multi-party democracy.[17] Mohammed Farah Aidid would be elected to serve as the first chairman and nominal leader of the SNA on 10 August 1992,[4] but his ability to impose decisions on the organization was limited, as a council of elders held decision-making power for most significant issues.[18] Osman Ali Atto would serve as the chief financier of the SNA.[18]

Following the organizations creation, Aidid would strive to add the Isaaq based Somali National Movement (SNM) and Darod based Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) to the SNA. If this goal were to be achieved, it would leave his prime rival Ali Mahdi as the only major remaining holdout to a unified national government.[19] Aidid would later claim that the SNA was the only faction in Somalia that had, "...risen above clan and local loyalties."[20]

Estimates of the strength of the SNA forces in Somalia ranged from around 5,000 to 10,000, with presumably 1,500 deployed in Mogadishu according to historian Stephen Biddle. Estimates of SNA numerical strength are complicated due to the addition of civilian volunteers or other part-time combatants who supplemented SNA forces in battles, particularly against UNOSOM II. The most probable count of full-time SNA fighters across the country was likely less than 5,000.[21] Soon after its formation the organization was considered to be one of the most powerful factions involved in the Somali Civil War.[22] Most of the SNA's military leadership was made up of former Somali National Army personnel, many of whom possessed combat experience.[23][24]

Militia troops were primarily equipped with light infantry weaponry, like the AK-47 assault rifle. Experienced fighters supplemented the main forces with RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, sniper rifles, mortars, land mines, recoilless rifles and machine guns.[21]

According to Brig. General Ed Wheeler and Lt. Colonel Craig Roberts of the US Army, it was reported by UN military tacticians that SNA forces practiced excellent fire and movement skills with six to eight man squads in engagements against UNOSOM II forces, though generally suffered from poor marksmanship.[25] In the view of Colonel R.D. Hooker, Jr., Chief of Staff of the Army Chair at the National War College, Somali National Alliance militia and the civilian irregulars/volunteers who participated in battles with them had been underestimated by General William F. Garrison and his special operations staff officers at Task Force Ranger. Col. Hooker notes that although poorly equipped and undisciplined to American eyes, many of the fighters had accrued years of combat experience while also demonstrating both determination and courage in numerous engagements with UNOSOM II well before the Battle of Mogadishu.[24]

SNA militia were widely observed to have significant shortcomings in small-arms marksmanship, weak fire discipline, and poor heavy weapons maintenance. SNA ambushes on convoys were noted to be frequently initiated with premature fire at the lead UN vehicle, alerting the rest of the column to the attack before entering the kill zone. Significant amounts of SNA heavy weapons and armoured vehicles seized by the UN were discovered to be inoperable or in poor condition due to substandard maintenance and lack of parts.[26]

In late July 1992 the alliance announced that they were creating a "joint administrative body" to make security arrangements in order to reduce banditry and that they further rejected recent proposals to send 500 UN troops to Somalia. Instead they appealed to the UN to aid the creation of a 6,000 man strong police service to maintain security and Aidid would announce that he agreed with the deployment of 40 UN military observers to Mogadishu.[27]

By August 1992, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General Mohammed Sahnoun successfully persuaded Aidid to enlarge the UN deployment. On 12 August, the Somali National Alliance signed an agreement allowing for the deployment of another 500 UN peacekeepers. However, as part of that agreement Sahnoun promised Aidid that any further deployments would require the consent of SNA leadership. To the surprise of both the SNA and UN Special Representative Mohammed Sahnoun, Secretary-General Boutros Ghali announced in a 24 August report his intention to increase the size of UNOSOM from 500 to 3,500 and deploy the extra troops in four operational zones across the country. According to Professor Stephen Hill, "Knowing that this announcement threatened to undo all his long worked for local support, because it had been made ‘without consulting the Somali leaders and community elders," Following Ghali's decision, Sahnoun attempted to have the deployment postponed until he could renegotiate with the SNA, which UN headquarters refused.[28]

The large scale international military intervention in late 1992 mobilized nationalist opposition to foreign troops in Somalia, which contributed to a significant growth of support for the SNA, which loudly decried perceived U.N. colonial practices.[29]

Following the 5 June 1993 attack on the Pakistanis, the SNA and UNOSOM II would engage in a four month long war until the 3-4 October 1993 Battle of Mogadishu.[30][31] The 5 June clash would result in the deaths of 25 Pakistani army peacekeepers and consequently would result in the passing of UNSCR 837 by the United Nations Security Council the following day. Directly naming the SNA, the resolution called for the arrest and punishment of those responsible for the attack, effectively creating a state of war between the SNA and UNOSOM II.[31]

The four month long conflict overturned much of the re-conciliatory process that had been made since the start of the intervention. A major turning point in UNOSOM and SNA fortunes came during the 12 July 1993 'Bloody Monday'. The raid had been conducted by the American Quick Reaction Force of UNOSOM II on what UN forces alleged to be an SNA command and control center. U.S. AH-1 Cobra helicopters killed up to 70 Somali clan elders and civilians, many of whom were reportedly not associated with Aidid. The raid has been noted for turning popular sentiment firmly against the intervention to the extent where, ..."even forces loyal to Ali Mahdi began to display open contempt for UNOSOM II."[31][32] Following the raid the conflict escalated and by mid-July firefights between UNOSOM forces and SNA militia were occurring almost daily.[33]

Following the killing of American troops in Mogadishu with a remote control bomb in August 1993, Operation Gothic Serpent was authorized by US President Bill Clinton to capture or kill Gen. Mohamed Farah Aidid and associated leadership within the SNA.[34] The heavy-handed methods used in June and July by UNOSOM II, along with the commencement of Ranger and Delta raids within Mogadishu in August, alienated much of the Somali public. Biddle notes that on account of this, the SNA had little difficulty rallying and mobilizing public support to confront UNOSOM II and US forces.[35]

A UNOSOM II propaganda leaflet depicting a Somali National Alliance fist crushing a dove that spells "PEACE" in Somali

During the intervention the SNA would repeatedly utilize anti-colonial, anti-imperialist and anti-American rhetoric in publications, statements and radio broadcasts:

Chairman Mohamed Farah Aidid called on the Somali people never to accept the colonialist device of divide-and-rule being applied by the United States and UNOSOM to divide the Somali people and realize their imperialist ambitions. On the contrary, the Somali people have the right to self-determination. He went on to appeal to the U.S. Congress and people to stop Clinton killing the Somali people and opposing their unity and wishes, which is damaging the image of the American people, of human rights, and the cooperation between the Somali and American peoples. He called on them to work towards settling the matter peacefully and justly - transcript of SNA broadcast 2nd of September 1993[36]

While SNA militia did engage in guerrilla warfare against US/UN forces (short-duration firefights, hit and run tactics, ambushes, etc.), the SNA also committed its forces to numerous sustained engagements with UN forces during the conflict. According to historian Stephen Biddle, "...for conventional armies, sustained firefights are expected; for guerrillas, they are not. Yet the SNA did sustain such firefights." He furthers notes that among the most notable of these sustained engagements in Mogadishu were:[37]

• 17 June 1993 - Four hour engagement; UNOSOM forces withdraw following an firefight with SNA forces near Digfer Hospital in Mogadishu.[37]
• 2 July 1993 - Four hour engagement; Italian UNOSOM commander negotiates a ceasefire with SNA to permit withdrawal after an ambush on Balad Road.[37]
• 6 September 1993 - Three hour engagement; UNOSOM forces disengage following ambush on Nigerian contingent reliving Italian garrison in downtown.[37]
• 9 September 1993 - Two hour engagement; SNA fighters and volunteers disengage after US attack helicopters come to aid ambushed US and Pakistani troops.[37]
• 13 September 1993 - Two hour engagement; US QRF forces withdraw after fighting their way out of an ambush in Medina District.[37]
• 3–4 October 1993 - Fourteen hour engagement; UNOSOM and US forces disengage from battle following extraction of Task Force Ranger from Bakaara Market. According to Biddle, the battle would have continued for even longer than 14 hours had their not been a withdrawal, noting that "it was the UN, not the SNA, that disengaged to end the fighting. The relief column that ultimately extracted TF Ranger had to fight its way into and out of the Bakaara Market; SNA fighters were resisting fiercely until UN forces crossed out of Aideed’s zone of control and withdrew to their bases."[37]

Two days after the Battle of Mogadishu, on 6 October 1993, President Clinton ordered all US military forces in Somalia to cease actions against the Somali National Alliance, except in self defence.[38] The next month on 16 November 1993, the United Nations Security Council instructed Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali to "suspend arrest actions" and announced the release of all SNA prisoners of war.[39] The following day Mohamed Farah Aidid announced that the decision had proved that the Somali National Alliance had achieved a victory over the UN.[40][41]

After the cessation of hostilities between the SNA and UNOSOM, Acting Special Representative Lansana Kouyate (replacing Adm. Johnathan Howe) successfully launched an initiative to normalize relations in March 1994. Numerous points of contention between the respective organizations were discussed at length and understandings were reached, facilitating the normalization of the relationship between the UN and the SNA.[42] That same year the UNOSOM forces began withdrawing, completing the process by 1995. The withdrawal of UNOSOM forces weakened Aidids prominence within the SNA, as the war had served to unify the alliance around a common foreign enemy.[32]

In January 1994, Aidid was re-elected as chairman by an SNA congress in Mogadishu attended by 200 high ranking officials of the alliance and was given a six month mandate. At the time the organization was noted to be the most powerful faction in the country.[43]

By 1994 the two principal factions contending for power in southern Somalia were the SNA and Ali Mahdi's Somali Salvation Alliance (SSA), also known as the 'Group of 12'.[44] An October 1994 Central Intelligence Agency report assessed that the governments of both Meles Zenawi in Ethiopia and Isaias Afwerki in Eritrea had decided to arm and support the SNA. It was believed that both nations had decided to help establish a Somali government with Aidid as president.[45]

In 1994 the SNA would suffer its first serious fracture when chief financier Osman Ali Atto and SNA forces loyal to him would break with the Aidid to ally with Ali Mahdi's SSA. That same year, the Somali National Movement (SNM) also suffered a serious fracture between President Ibrahim Egal of Somaliland and his predecessor Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur. Tuur had allied himself with the Somali National Alliance and called for the reunification of Somaliland with Somalia. Fighting between the two factions broke out in Hargeisa in November 1994, which the forces of President Egal would eventually win,[46] ending Aidids aspirations of incorporating the SNM into an SNA government.[19]

In April 1995 Osman Ali Atto would announce Aidid's signature no longer represented the SNA.[32] By June of that year Aidid was removed from chairmanship of the alliance during a vote conducted by the SNA congress, to be replaced by Atto.[47][48] In response, later that same month Aidid would declare himself President of Somalia prompting a joint statement from Ali Mahdi and Osman Atto condemning his declarations.[49][50] On 25 July 1996, the Somali Salvation Alliance (SSA) led by Aidids prime rival Ali Mahdi Muhammad and aided by the break away faction led by Osman Ali Atto, would seize control of the strategic Baledogle Airfield from SNA.[51] Three days later on 28 July 1996, the SNA launched a counter-offensive and engaged in a four-hour battle to recapture the airfield. Following intense exchange of fire between the two sides, which involved the use RPG-7's, machine guns, and anti-aircraft missiles, the SNA successfully regained control of the base.[52]

After the death of Gen. Mohammed Farah Aidid in 1996, his son, Hussein Mohamed Farah Aidid, was elected by an 80-member SNA cabinet and leadership council at Villa Somalia.[53] Following Aidid's death, in 1997 the Cairo Accord was signed by major Somali factions, most notably between the SNA and Ali Mahdi's Somali Salvation Alliance (SSA). The accord would collapse following Ethiopian pressure on the SSA to pull out of the agreement after signing.[54]

During reconciliation talks among Somali leaders in Kenya in December 2001, it was agreed that the Somali National Alliance would be folded into the Transitional National Government (TNG). The TNG proposed to the Transitional National Assembly that the number of cabinet members and parliamentarians be increased to make way for a broader-based government and on 20 January 2002, the assembly would pass the motion.[55]