1991 Zeila incursion

1991 Zeila incursion
Part of the Somaliland War of Independence
Zeila Loyada Garisa 1991 Zeila incursion (Awdal) Show map of Awdal Zeila Loyada Garisa 1991 Zeila incursion (Somaliland) Show map of Somaliland Zeyla triangle
Date 9 February 1991 Location Zeila, Somaliland Result SNM victory SNM recaptures Zeila, Loyada and Garisa
Belligerents
United Somali Front (USF) Supported by:   Djibouti Somali regime remnants	Somali National Movement (SNM)
Commanders and leaders
Abdirahman Dualeh Ali Hassan Gouled Aptidon Ismail Omar Guelleh	Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur
Strength
500	Unknown

The 1991 Zeila incursion (Somali: Dagaalkii Saylac) was a Djiboutian-backed incursion during the Somaliland War of Independence led by the United Somali Front (USF), purporting to politically represent the Issa clans in the western Awdal region of Somaliland, ^[1] with the goal of annexing the towns of Zeila, Loyada and Gerisa (Zeyla triangle) to Djibouti. ^{[2] [3]}

A combined force of United Somali Front (USF) militia fighters mostly consisting of Issa from Djibouti and remnant Somalian regiments of the Darod clan entered Somaliland and temporarily took over parts of western Awdal, including Zeila, Loyada and Gerisa, before being routed by SNM forces. ^[3]

Background

In the late 1980s, the Issa of Awdal region, led by Abdirahman Dualeh Ali, ^{[4] [5]} a former SNM leader, ^[6] formed the United Somali Front (USF). The militia was discreetly supported and remotely controlled by current Djiboutian president Ismail Omar Guelleh, ^[7] then head of the Djibouti secret service and the nephew of former president Hassan Gouled Aptidon. ^[8] The USF, armed with small arms, ^[9] engaged in preparation for the secession of this westernmost region of Somaliland. ^[8] In a meeting of high-ranking Issa clan elders in January 1990, the annexation of Zeila and Lughaya to Djibouti was considered an imperative objective. ^[10] Influential Issa politicians envisioned a Greater Djibouti or "Issa-land", where Djibouti's borders would extend from the Red Sea to Dire Dawa. ^[11]

In late March 1990 the Somali National Army (SNA) had retaken Zeila, Lughaya and Loyada in order to discourage the ambitious attempts of the USF to lay claim to the area. ^[12] In January 1991, USF elements engaged in separate negotiations with the SNA in the north to retrieve their disarmed weapons to cross into Djibouti and prepare to return in combat formation in the event that the government's army in Somaliland completely collapses. ^[13]

Clashes

On 9 February 1991, the SNM clashed with USF forces on the Djiboutian border, ^{[14] [15]} with the USF forces, backed by former Somalian regulars, occupying the western parts of Awdal region with the goal of annexing Zeyla to Djibouti. ^{[15] [3]} SNM leader Suleiman Mohamoud Aden (Suleiman Gaal) and current speaker of Somaliland House of Elders warned Djibouti and advised Djibouti on non-intervention in the post-Siad Barre conflict. ^[14] An SNM delegation led by SNM chairman Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur subsequently went to Djibouti, where they were told by Hassan Guled Aptidon and his Secret Service Chief Ismail Omar Guelleh that the SNM should recognize its control over the Zeyla-Loyada-Garissa area (Zeyla triangle). ^[3]

The SNM chairman rejected their claims and refused to comply, and took military action against the USF soldiers, which were swiftly routed and violently crushed. ^{[4] [3]} The Issa component sought safety in Djibouti, while the former Siad Barre soldiers, who were primarily from the Majerteen and Ogaden clans of the Darod, were transported by sea to Bosaso, where they joined the newly resurgent Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF). ^[3]

Aftermath

The USF would consequently continue to attempt to detach the Issa-populated area of Awdal (the Loyada-Garissa-Zeyla triangle) from the rest of Somaliland, being swiftly crushed by SNM forces each time, ^{[16] [1]} including eight weeks of sporadic fighting in late 1995. ^[17]

References

1. "Somalia: Civil War, Intervention and Withdrawal 1990 - 1995". Refworld. Retrieved 2024-11-11. This is a marginal front which purports to be the political expression of the Issa clans. Based in the extreme northwest (i.e. the Westernmost part of the self-proclaimed Somaliland Republic), it is supported by the Republic of Djibouti which is also politically dominated by the Issa. The USF did not fight during the civil war. Since the war ended in the North in 1991, it has several times tried to detach the Issa-populated area (the Loyada-Garissa-Zeyla triangle) from the rest of 'Somaliland'. Each time it has been swiftly crushed by SNM forces.
2. Lewis, I. M. (1994). Blood and Bone: The Call of Kinship in Somali Society. The Red Sea Press. ISBN   978-0-932415-93-6.
3. Gurdon, Charles (1996). "The Horn of Africa". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 59 (1): 63. doi:10.1017/S0041977X0002927X. ISSN   1474-0699.
4. Gebrewold, Belachew (2016-04-15). Anatomy of Violence: Understanding the Systems of Conflict and Violence in Africa. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-317-18139-2.
5. Pakistan Army Journal. Inspector General Training and Evaluation Branch, General Headquarters. 1994.
6. Prunier, Gérard (2021). The Country that Does Not Exist: A History of Somaliland. Oxford University Press. p. 129. ISBN   978-1-78738-203-9.
7. Prunier, Gérard (2021). The Country that Does Not Exist: A History of Somaliland. Oxford University Press. p. 252. ISBN   978-1-78738-203-9.
8. Prunier, Gérard (2021). The Country that Does Not Exist: A History of Somaliland. Oxford University Press. p. 116. ISBN   978-1-78738-203-9.
9. Gebrewold, Belachew (2016-04-15). Anatomy of Violence: Understanding the Systems of Conflict and Violence in Africa. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-317-18139-2.
10. Africa Research Bulletin: Political series. Africa Research Limited. 1991.
11. Clarke, Walter S. (1991). "The 'Esayi Dream: A Footnote to the Ogaden War". Northeast African Studies. 13 (1): 29–38. ISSN   0740-9133. JSTOR   43660335.
12. Prunier, Gérard (2021). The Country that Does Not Exist: A History of Somaliland. Oxford University Press. p. 123. ISBN   978-1-78738-203-9.
13. Prunier, Gérard (2021). The Country that Does Not Exist: A History of Somaliland. Oxford University Press. p. 130. ISBN   978-1-78738-203-9.
14. Prunier, Gérard (2021). The Country that Does Not Exist: A History of Somaliland. Oxford University Press. p. 137. ISBN   978-1-78738-203-9.
15. Berdún, Maria Montserrat Guibernau i; Guibernau, Montserrat; Rex, John (2010-01-11). The Ethnicity Reader: Nationalism, Multiculturalism and Migration. Polity. ISBN   978-0-7456-4701-2.
16. Refugee Survey Quarterly. UNHCR, Centre for Documentation on Refugees. 1996.
17. "Somalia: Update to End August 1996". Refworld. Retrieved 2024-11-12.