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War in Somalia (2006–present)

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Conflict and Peace

   War in Somalia (2006–present)
   Part of the Somali Civil War
   TFG soldiers in a technical near Baidoa.

   Date   December 20, 2006 – ongoing
 Location Southern Somalia
  Result  Ongoing Conflict
            * Overthrow of ICU government in Mogadishu.
            * Transitional Federal Government establishes control over Mogadishu
              and southern Somalia
            * Ethiopian troops are deployed in southern Somalia
            * Emergence of Islamist insurgency by PRM
            * Inter-clan fighting resumes, so far to a limited degree.

   Combatants
   Islamic Courts Union
   Pro-Islamist militias

   Alleged:
   Flag of Eritrea  Eritrea
   Foreign Mujahideen
   al-Qaeda
   South:

   Flag of Ethiopia  Ethiopia
   Flag of Somalia Transitional Government of Somalia
   Flag of United States  United States
   North:
   Flag of Ethiopia  Ethiopia
   Flag of Somalia Galmudug
   Flag of Somalia Puntland
   After the invasion:
   Flag of African Union AMISOM
   Commanders
   Hassan Aweys

   Sharif Ahmed
   Hasan Hersi
   Adan Ayrow
   Flag of Somalia Barre Adan Shire "Hirale"

   Flag of Somalia Abdi Qeybdid (Galmudug)
   Flag of Somalia Adde Musa (Puntland)
   Flag of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi
   Flag of United States Patrick M. Walsh
   Strength
   4,000 ICU militia

   Alleged forces:
   100-300 foreign jihadists
   Somalia: 10,000
   Ethiopia: 8-15,000
   AMISOM: 8,000
   Casualties
   1,300 KIA (Ethiopian claim)
   3,000+ injured
   N/A
   War in Somalia (2006–present)
   Baidoa – Bandiradley – Beledweyne – Jowhar – Mogadishu (fall) – Jilib –
   Kismayo – Ras Kamboni – Mogadishu (battle)
   Chronology: 2006 2007
                                 Somali Civil War
   Revolution (1986–92) – UN intervention (1992–95) –
   Attempts at Reconciliation (1991–2004) – Consolidation (1998–2006) –
   Rise of the ICU (2006) – Ethiopian intervention (2006–present) –
   Islamist insurgency (2007–present)
                    Recent conflicts in the Horn of Africa
   Eritrean War of Independence – Ethiopian Civil War – Ogaden War –
   Somali Civil War – Djiboutian Civil War – Eritrean-Ethiopian War –
   Ethiopian war in Somalia

   The War in Somalia is an ongoing armed conflict involving largely
   Ethiopian and Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces
   versus the Islamist militant umbrella group, the Islamic Court Union
   (ICU), and other affiliated militias for control of the country. The
   war officially began on December 21, 2006, when the leader of the ICU,
   Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, declared "Somalia is in a state of war, and
   all Somalis should take part in this struggle against Ethiopia". On
   December 24, Ethiopia stated it would actively combat the ICU.

   Ethiopia's prime minister, Meles Zenawi, said Ethiopia entered
   hostilities because it faced a direct threat to its own borders.
   “Ethiopian defense forces were forced to enter into war to protect the
   sovereignty of the nation,” he said. “We are not trying to set up a
   government for Somalia, nor do we have an intention to meddle in
   Somalia's internal affairs. We have only been forced by the
   circumstances.”

   While it is true the ICU made threats to carry the war into Ethiopia,
   the circumstances referred to were in part due to prior Ethiopian
   actions. Ethiopia's involvement in Somalia had begun months before,
   with the intercession of forces to support the establishment of the
   transitional government, and to support other regional governments
   considered more acceptable to Ethiopia.

   The ICU, which controlled the coastal areas of southern Somalia,
   engaged in fighting with the forces of the Somali TFG, and the
   autonomous regional governments of Puntland and Galmudug, all of whom
   were backed by Ethiopian troops. The outbreak of heavy fighting began
   on December 20 with the Battle of Baidoa, after the lapse of a one-week
   deadline the ICU imposed on Ethiopia (on December 12) to withdraw from
   the nation. Ethiopia, however, refused to abandon its positions around
   the TFG interim capital at Baidoa. On December 29, after several
   successful battles, TFG and Ethiopian troops entered Mogadishu
   relatively unopposed. Although not announced until later, a small
   number of U.S. special forces troops accompanied Ethiopian and TFG
   troops after the collapse and withdrawal of the ICU to give military
   advice and to track suspected al-Qaida fighters.

   The two sides had traded war declarations and gun fire on several
   occasions before. Eastern African countries and international observers
   fear the Ethiopian offensive may lead to a regional war, involving
   Eritrea, a long-time enemy of Ethiopia, who Ethiopia claims to be a
   supporter of the ICU.

Forces involved

   The scope of forces involved are difficult to calculate because of many
   factors, including lack of formal organization or record-keeping, and
   claims which remained masked by disinformation. Ethiopia for months
   leading up to the war maintained it had only a few hundred advisors in
   the country. Yet independent reports indicated far more troops.
   According to the BBC, "The United Nations estimated that at least 8,000
   Ethiopian troops may be in the country while the AP suggests the number
   closer to 12-15,000, while regional rival Eritrea has deployed some
   2,860 troops in support of the Islamic group." Ethiopia only admitted
   to 3,511–4,805 being involved, though the ICU claimed the Ethiopians
   had 30,000 troops, while Eritrea denies having any troops in Somalia.
   In addition, the TFG alleged there were up to 8,000 foreign mujahideen
   fighting on behalf of the ICU, based on the ICU's worldwide appeal for
   Muslim mujahideen to come fight for their cause. Somali government
   troops and allied militias estimated roughly 10,000.

Background

Historic background

   A broader perspective shows many incidents of Ethiopian-Somali
   conflict. Boundary disputes over the Ogaden region date to the 1948
   settlement when the land was granted to Ethiopia. Somali disgruntlement
   with this decision has led to repeated attempts to invade Ethiopia with
   the hopes of taking control of the Ogaden to create a Greater Somalia.
   This plan would have reunited the Somali people of the
   Ethiopian-controlled Ogaden with those living in the Republic of
   Somalia. Without that, ethnic and political tensions have caused
   cross-border clashes over the years.
     * 1960–1964 Border Dispute
     * 1977–1978 Ogaden War
     * 1982 August Border Clash
     * 1998–2000 Cross-border warfare during the chaotic warlord-led era.

   Conflicts between Ethiopia and Somalia are not limited to the 20th–21st
   Centuries. Wars between Somalia, or its precursor Islamic states, and
   Ethiopia, stretch back to 16th century. For example, Ahmad ibn Ibrihim
   al-Ghazi was a 16th Century Islamic leader popular in Somali culture
   for his jihad against the Ethiopians during the rise of the Adal
   Sultanate.

   Therefore, painful living history, oral and cultural traditions,
   long-standing ethnic divisions and sectarian differences lay between
   the two nations and fuel the conflict.

Diplomatic and humanitarian efforts

   The war is being responded to by high-level diplomatic engagements,
   including the UN Security Council, the EU, Arab League, and African
   Union. Many humanitarian organizations are making appeals to stem the
   conflict before it causes catastrophic civilian suffering.

Information Warfare, Disinformation and Propaganda

   Even before the beginning of the war there have been significant
   assertions and accusations of the use of disinformation and propaganda
   tactics by various parties to shape the causes and course of the
   conflict. This includes assertions of falsification of the presence or
   number of forces involved, exaggeration or minimization of the
   casualties inflicted or taken, influence or control of media outlets
   (or shutting them down), and other informational means and media to
   sway popular support and international opinion.

Timeline of the build-up

July–October 2006

   Ethiopian troops moved into Somalian territory on July 20, 2006.

   On August 1, 2006, the ICU sent technicals out towards the Ethiopian
   border north of Beledweyne. Ethiopian troops were reportedly sent
   across the border to stop the ICU's advance.

   On October 9, it was reported Ethiopian troops seized Burhakaba.
   Another article seemed to indicate the Ethiopian control was a troop
   convoy passing through. Islamists claim the town reverted to their
   control after the Ethiopians departed. SomaliNet reports the elders
   asked the government to leave to avoid bloodshed in their town. The
   article said it was government troops, and not Ethiopians who had come
   to the town.

November - December 2006

   An Ethiopian column of 80 vehicles was hit by landmines then attacked
   with gunfire by a group of about 50 troops loyal to the ICU on November
   19, 2006 near Berdaale, 30 miles (50 km) west of Baidoa. Six Ethiopians
   were reported killed in the attack. Two Ethiopian trucks burned and two
   were overturned.

   An exchange of mortar shells between Islamic Courts Union and Ethiopian
   forces occurred in Galkayo on November 28, 2006 with both Islamists and
   Ethiopian forces facing off. Ethiopian and Islamist forces in Galkayo,
   central Somalia, were less than 5 kilometers away from one another.

   On November 30, an Ethiopian military convoy in Somalia was ambushed by
   fighters loyal to the Islamic Courts Union. Eyewitnesses said a truck
   was blown up and there was an exchange of fire. The ICU claim 20
   soldiers died. Ethiopia's parliament voted the same day to authorize
   the government take "all necessary" steps to rebuff any potential
   invasion by Somalia's Islamists.

   On December 8, 2006, fighters from Somalia's Islamic Courts Union
   clashed with Somalian pro-government forces, allegedly in cooperation
   with Ethiopian troops. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, head of the Islamic
   Courts, told a crowd in Mogadishu that fighting had started in Dinsor
   in the south, and called on all Somalis to "stand up and defeat the
   enemies". Another official said Ethiopian troops had shelled the town
   of Bandiradley. The Deputy Defence Minister of the Somali government,
   Salat Ali Jelle, confirmed the fighting but denied any Ethiopian troops
   were involved. The Ethiopian government has denied repeated claims that
   its troops are fighting alongside Somali government militia.

   Witnesses in Dagaari village near Bandiradley said that they saw
   hundreds of Ethiopian troops and tanks take up positions near the town
   with militiamen from the northeastern semi-autonomous region of
   Puntland.

   On December 9, fighters from Somalia's Islamic Courts and
   pro-government soldiers clashed in a second day of fighting. The
   fighting occurred 40 kilometers from the interim government's
   headquarters in Baidoa. Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal, an Islamic Courts
   official, said that the government had launched a counterattack at
   Rama'addey village, while Ali Mohamed Gedi, the prime minister, claimed
   that Islamic Courts fighters had attacked government positions.

   On December 13, a Reuters report said that the ICU claimed 30,000
   Ethiopian troops were involved in Somalia, while 4,000 foreign fighters
   were involved on the side of the ICU. Ethiopia denied having troops
   other than "military advisors" present.

War

2006

   On December 20, major fighting broke out around the TFG capital of
   Baidoa. Thirteen trucks filled with Ethiopian reinforcements were
   reported en route to the fighting. Leaders of both groups briefly kept
   an option open for peace talks brokered by the EU.

   On December 22, nearly 20 Ethiopian tanks headed toward the front line.
   According to government sources Ethiopia had 20 T-55 tanks and four
   attack helicopters in Baidoa.

   On December 23, Ethiopian tanks and further reinforcements arrived in
   Daynuunay, 30 kilometres east of Baidoa; prompting ICU forces to vow
   all-out war despite a commitment to a EU-brokered peace. Heavy fighting
   continued in Lidale and Dinsoor.

   On December 24, Ethiopia admitted its troops were fighting the
   Islamists, after stating earlier in the week it had only sent several
   hundred military advisors to Baidoa. Heavy fighting erupted in border
   areas, with reports of air strikes and shelling, including targets near
   the ICU-held town of Beledweyne. According to Ethiopian Information
   Minister Berhan Hailu: "The Ethiopian government has taken
   self-defensive measures and started counter-attacking the aggressive
   extremist forces of the Islamic Courts and foreign terrorist groups."

   On December 25, Ethiopian and Somali forces captured Beledweyne.
   Defending ICU forces fled Beledweyne concurrent to Ethiopian airstrikes
   against the Mogadishu and Bali-Dogle airports. Heavy fighting was also
   reported in Burhakaba.

   On December 26, the ICU was in retreat on all fronts, losing much of
   the territory they gained in the months preceding the Ethiopian
   intervention. They reportedly fell back to Daynuunay and Mogadishu.

   On December 27, Ethiopian and Somali government forces were en route to
   Somalia's capital, Mogadishu after capturing the strategic town of
   Jowhar, 90km north from the capital. The ICU were in control of little
   more than the coast, abandoning many towns without putting up a fight.
   Also, the UIC top two commanders, defense chief Yusuf Mohammed Siad
   Inda'ade and his deputy Abu Mansur were away on the Hajj pilgrimage in
   Mecca.

   After the Fall of Mogadishu to the Ethiopian and government forces on
   December 28, fighting continued in the Juba River valley, where the ICU
   retreated, establishing a new headquarters in the city of Kismayo.
   Intense fighting was reported on December 31 in the Battle of Jilib and
   the ICU frontlines collapsed during the night to artillery fire,
   causing the ICU to once again go into retreat, abandoning Kismayo,
   without a fight and retreating towards the Kenyan border.

2007

   Military events in 2007 focused on the southern section of Somalia,
   primarily the withdrawal of ICU forces from Kismayo, and their pursuit
   using Ethiopian air strikes in Afmadow district concurrent to the
   Battle of Ras Kamboni. During this battle, the U.S. launched an
   airstrike conducted by an AC-130 gunship against suspected Al-Qaeda
   operatives. A second airstrike was made after the battle later in
   January 2007. In addition, there were various insurgent attacks in
   Mogadishu and around the country against Ethiopian and government
   forces, as well as inter-clan militia violence. The government
   meanwhile called for a disarmament of the militias, and declared
   martial law. In the beginning of March, the first African Union Mission
   to Somalia begun arriving in Somalia, as the insurgency flared up.

   By the end of March, the fighting intensified in Mogadishu and more
   than a thousand people were killed. Hawiye clan militaimen allied with
   the islamists clashed with TFG and Ethiopian troops.

Suicide bombings

   In late 2006, two suicide bombings were reported in Baidoa where the
   government was stationed at the time.

   In the beginning of April 2007, Al-Jazeera TV aired a Somali man who
   was speaking in Arabic and reciting Koranic verses. Then they showed an
   SUV full what appeared to be explosives driving toward an Ethiopian
   compound followed by a large explosion.

   The insurgents adapted Middle East style suicide bombings. At least one
   person blew himself on April 19, 2007 near an Ethiopian military
   compound. A bystander said at least two Ethiopian vehicles entering the
   compound were destroyed to small pieces.

   On April 24, a suicide bomber attacked an Ethiopian forces compound in
   Afgoye town, 30km south of Mogadishu. There were no immediate casualty
   reports.

   On April 25, 11 people were killed in a suicide attack on a major hotel
   around KM4 roundabout, south of Mogadishu where the Somali government
   officials are based.

Somaliland

   Having secured the southern and central area of Somalia in mid January
   2007, the Transitional Federal Government is faced with the issue of
   whether, and how, to unify the entirety of Somalia as it existed in
   1991. Since that year, Somaliland has been operating as a de facto
   independent nation, though unrecognized internationally. According to
   the Transitional Federal Charter, the Somali Republic includes the area
   of Somaliland in the definition of its sovereign territory.

   There are various political forces involved. Ethiopia depends on
   Somaliland to provide port facilities since the loss of the coast with
   Eritrea, and generally supports the idea of Somaliland independence,
   while Eritrea supports Somaliland being reabsorbed into Somalia to make
   a larger nation to counter Ethiopia's dominance on the region. As well,
   eastern Somaliland is disputed with Puntland because of clan ties..

   On January 11, Somaliland and Ethiopia held talks regarding further
   economic ties.

   On January 14, 2007, leaders of Somaliland's three main political
   parties, the UDUB, Kulmiye, and UCID, held a press conference warning
   of regional war if Somalia tried to reabsorb Somaliland. On January 16,
   tens of thousands protested in Hargeisa against the prospect of
   reunification, burning Somalian flags. The next day, January 17,
   thousands demonstrated in favour of joining the TFG took place in the
   Sool and Sanag regions of Somaliland.

Weapons

   The Ethiopian Army is equipped with predominantly Soviet-made weapons
   while TFG and Islamic weapons vary, having mostly small arms. The
   following table should not be considered exhaustive.
   Type Ethiopian Army TFG Islamists
   Tanks T-55, T-62, T-72 none none
   APC's/IFV's BTR-40, M113, BTR-60 technicals technicals
   Artillery 2A18, M1937 Howitzer, BM-21, 120mm mortars 120mm mortars
   120mm mortars
   Aircraft MiG-21, MiG-23, Su-27 none none
   Helicopters Mi-6, Mi-8, Mi-24 none none
   Small Arms, Light Weapons AK-47, Heckler & Koch G3, PKM, DShK, ZU-23,
   RPG-2, RPG-7 AK-47, Heckler & Koch G3, PKM, DShK, ZU-23, RPG-2, RPG-7
   AK-47, DShK, Browning M2, ZU-23, M79, RPG-7

Key people

TFG

   An August 24, 2006 article in the Sudan Tribune identified several
   warlords involved with TFG military units:
     * Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed – TFG president, former leader of the SSDF.
     * Mohamed Omar Habeeb (Mohamed Dheere) – controlled Jowhar region
       with the help of Ethiopia; after losing in Mogadishu as part of the
       ARPCT, regrouped his militia in Ethiopia & since returned (see
       Battle of Jowhar).
     * Muuse Suudi Yalahow – Controlled Medina District in Mogadishu but
       was forced to flee by the ICU. Has since returned to the city.
     * Hussein Mohamed Farrah – son of late General Mohamed Farrah Aidid.
       Although his father was a key anti-U.N. force in the mid-1990s,
       Farrah is a naturalized U.S. citizen and former U.S. Marine who
       controlled Villa Somalia. Former leader of the SRRC militia. The
       Sudan Tribune says Farrah is in the patronage of Ethiopia, and
       Western interests see him as their best hope to improve
       Somali-Western relations.
     * Abdi Hasan Awale Qeybdiid – former finance minister under Gen.
       Aidid; arrested in Sweden for warcrimes, but later released due to
       lack of evidence.
     * Colonel Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud – affiliated with the
       Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA). Came to power after his militia
       (with the help of Ethiopian paramilitary forces) drived out Aidid's
       militia from Baidoa, which became the seat of the transitional
       government. Presently TFG Minister of Finance.
     * Mohamed Qanyare Afrah – former Security Minister and member of
       ARPCT
     * Barre Aadan Shire "Hiiraale" – leader of the Juba Valley Alliance
       (JVA); controls Kismayo (and until its loss to the ICU, Marka
       region).
     * Hassan Abdullah Qalaad

ICU

     * Sharif Ahmed, head of the ICU executive committee
     * Hassan Dahir Aweys, head of the ICU shura council, former Somali
       colonel, listed by the U.S. as a terrorist for heading Osama bin
       Laden-supported Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya in the 1990s.
     * Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki, led forces which captured Juba
       Valley, on U.S. terrorist list for taking over the leadership of
       Aweys' group
     * Abu Taha al-Sudan, reported to have led the ICU troops in the
       Battle of Baidoa, former Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, wanted by the U.S.
       as the financier of the 1998 United States embassy bombings and
       involvement in the 2002 Mombasa hotel bombing
     * Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, listed as a terrorist by the U.S. for
       reported involvement in the 2002 Mombasa hotel bombing, said to
       have been a target of the U.S. AC-130 raid in January 2007
     * Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, listed as a terrorist by the U.S. for
       reported involvement in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings. Some
       sources claim that he was a target of the U.S. AC-130 raid. His
       death by the AC-130 raid was later reported by Somali authorities,
       but denied by US officials.
     * Aden Hashi Farah "Eyrow", led commandos of the ICU's Hizbul Shabaab
       movement against Ethiopian-backed forces in the Battle of Baidoa,
       before fleeing and being targeted by the U.S. AC-130 raid that
       killed eight people on January 8, 2007. Was named Al-Qaeda's leader
       in Somalia in March, 2007.

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