| 26th Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1960-1991 |
| Country |  Somalia |
| Branch | Somali National Army |
| Type | Division |
| HQ location | Hargeisa, Somalia |
The 26th Division , (Somali : Qeybta 26aad), also known as the Northern Division was one of five Somali National Army divisions. The 26th was responsible for northern Somalia and was headquartered in the city of Hargeisa. [1] In 1977, the division was responsible for the Dire Dawa front in the Ogaden War. [2]
During the Ogaden War the 26th's heavy equipment was composed of T-54 main battle tanks, T-34's and 36 BM-21 Grad artillery pieces. [3]
General Muhammed Hashi “Gaani,” related to then Somali President Siyaad Barre’s second wife, was placed in charge of the 26th during 1980. [4]
In January 1984 the 9th Brigade of the 26th reportedly had a short lived mutiny in Las Anod District. Clandestine anti-government radio run by the Somali National Movement (SNM) claimed that heavy fighting had started across the district against loyalist forces after members of the 9th Brigade had been ordered to massacre and harass civilians. 10 officers from the unit claimed political asylum in the United States and the commander of the 9th, Abd al-Fatah Jama Amir, was claimed to have been killed in the confrontation. [5]
From 1986 to 1988, General Mohamed Said Hersi Morgan was the commander of the 26th Sector (the region of Somaliland) before being appointed Minister of Defense in September 1990. Divisions in the 26th Sector by this time included Division 1, Division 2 at Hargeisa, 3, and 11. [6]
In 1988, the 26th possessed 90 operational tanks. By 1990 only 10 would be in working condition. [7]
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The Isaaq genocide, also known as the Hargeisa holocaust, was the systematic, state-sponsored genocide of Isaaq civilians between 1987 and 1989 by the Somali Democratic Republic, under the dictatorship of Siad Barre, during the Somaliland War of Independence. The number of civilian deaths in this massacre is estimated to be between 50,000 and 100,000, according to various sources, whilst local reports estimate the total civilian deaths to be upwards of 200,000 Isaaq civilians. The genocide also included the levelling and complete destruction of the second and third largest cities in the Somali Republic, Hargeisa and Burao, respectively, and had caused up to 500,000 Somalis of the region, primarily of the Isaaq clan, to flee their land and cross the border to Hartasheikh in Ethiopia as refugees in what was described as "one of the fastest and largest forced movements of people recorded in Africa", which resulted in the creation of the world's largest refugee camp then (1988), with another 400,000 being displaced. The scale of destruction led to Hargeisa being known as the 'Dresden of Africa'. The killings happened during the Somali Civil War and have been referred to as a "forgotten genocide".
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