Somaliland War of Independence

The Somaliland War of Independence also known as the National Liberation Struggle in Somaliland (Somali: Halgankii Gobanimo-doonka, lit. 'The National Liberation Struggle') , the Northern Rebellion (Somali: Kacdoonkii Waqooyi, lit. 'The Northern Uprising') in Somalia, and sometimes called the Great Isaaq Uprising or the Isaaq Rebellion was an Isaaq rebellion waged by the Somali National Movement (SNM) against the ruling military junta in Somalia led by General Siad Barre lasting from its founding on 6 April 1981 and ended on 18 May 1991 when the SNM declared what was then northern Somalia independent as the Republic of Somaliland. The conflict served as the main theater of the larger Somali Rebellion that started in 1978. The conflict was in response to the harsh policies enacted by the Barre regime against the main clan family in Somaliland, the Isaaq, including a declaration of economic warfare on the clan-family. These harsh policies were put into effect shortly after the conclusion of the disastrous Ogaden War in 1978. As a direct response to the harsh policies enacted by the Barre regime against the Isaaq people, in April 1981 a group of Isaaq businesspeople, students, former civil servants and former politicians founded the Somali National Movement in London. From February 1982, Isaaq army officers and fighters started moving into Ethiopia where they formed the nucleus of what would later become the armed wing of the SNM. Throughout the early to mid 1980s SNM launched a guerrilla war against the Barre regime through incursions and hit and run operations on army positions within Isaaq territories, especially into the Waqooyi Galbeed and Togdheer regions. After the conclusion of a peace deal between Somalia's military junta and Ethiopia in April 1988 the SNM launched a major offensive in late May 1988, overrunning the cities of Hargeisa and Burao, then the second and third largest cities of Somalia. During the ongoing conflict, the Somali government's genocidal campaign against the Isaaq took place between May 1988 and March 1989, with explicit aims of handling the "Isaaq problem", Barre ordered the shelling and aerial bombardment of the major cities in the northwest and the systematic destruction of Isaaq dwellings, settlements and water points. The Siad Barre regime targeted civilian members of the Isaaq group specifically, especially in the cities of Hargeisa and Burao, and to that end employed the use of indiscriminate artillery shelling and aerial bombardment against civilian populations belonging to the Isaaq clan. By early 1990, the Barre regime had lost control of large parts of the northern regions, and by its collapse in January 1991, the SNM succeeded in taking full control of northern Somalia including Hargeisa and other regional capitals, after which the organisation quickly opted for a cessation of hostilities and reconciliation with non-Isaaq communities, culminating in the "Grand Conference of the Northern Clans" in Burao between 27 April and 18 May 1991 and the subsequent formation of the Republic of Somaliland.

Background

=== Postcolonial era === The first Somali state to be granted its independence from colonial powers was Somaliland, a former British protectorate that gained independence on 26 June 1960. The rest of what came to be known as the Somali Republic was under Italian rule under the title Trust Territory of Somaliland (also known as Somalia Italiana). Shortly after Somaliland gained independence, it was to form a union with its southern neighbour to create the Somali Republic. Henceforth British Somaliland was referred to as the northern (or north western) region of the Somali Republic, whilst the former Italian colonial state was referred to as the south. Within British Somaliland the Isaaq constituted the majority group within the protectorate with Dir and Harti groups also having sizeable populations to the west and east of Isaaq respectively. The union of the two states proved problematic early on when it was discovered that the two polities had been unified under different Acts of Union. The newly unified Somali Republic's parliament promptly created a new Act of Union for all of Somalia, but this new Act was widely rejected in the former State of Somaliland in a referendum held on 20 June 1961; with half of the population in the State of Somaliland (the north-west of nascent Somali Republic), the major cities of the former British protectorate voted against the ratification of the constitution – Hargeisa (72%), Berbera (69%), Burao (66%) and Erigavo (69%) – all returning negative votes. This was in contrast to the south (ex-Italian colony) which returned a strong support for the constitution (and four times the expected vote numbers in the south, indicating electoral fraud; an example of this is a small southern village called Wanlaweyn registered a yes vote higher than the 100,000 votes counted in all of the north). This was a major signal of discontent coming from the north only a year after forming the union. Northern support for the union consequently began to deteriorate as result of political and economic mismatches that were the result of two contrasting colonial experience that operated in the two parts of the unified republic. Another example of the simmering discontent in the north was a coup attempt by northern officers that was thwarted in 1961.

Coup attempt

Unrest and opposition to the union further increased as southern politicians began taking up the majority of political positions in the newly unified Somali Republic. This led to fears that the former State of Somaliland could become a neglected outpost. In turn, many northern administrative officials and officers were moved to the south to defuse regional tensions. In addition to these tensions, there were also personal grievances among several officers of northern descent. They felt that officers from the south who had been appointed as their superiors following the unification were poorly educated and unfit as commanders. In addition, it was suspected that the government preferred Italian-trained officers from the south over British-trained officers from the north. A group of at least 24 junior officers, including several who had been trained in Great Britain, eventually conspired to end the union between Somalia and Somaliland. One of the coup plotters was Hussein Ali Duale who later became a leading Somaliland separatist politician. The conspirators believed that they enjoyed the support of General Daud Abdulle Hirsi, head of the Somali National Army. When the coup plotters launched their revolt in December 1961, they wanted to take over major towns in Somaliland. Researcher Ken Menkhaus argued that the coup attempt had "no chance of success" from the start, as the coup plotters did not enjoy majority support among the northern population or the local troops. One group of junior officer seized control of the radio station in Hargeisa, announcing their intentions and that they were supported by General Hirsi. Another group of coup plotters attempted arrest superior officers of southern origin in the town of Burao, but failed. The government in Mogadishu was surprised at the revolt, but reacted quickly. General Hirsi declared via Radio Mogadishu that he was not involved in the revolt, whereupon non-commissioned officers of northern origin moved against the coup members in Hargeisa. The loyalists retook Radio Hargeisa, killing one coup member. The revolt was put down in a matter of hours. All surviving coup members were arrested. Though the revolt had not been supported by the northern population, the locals still sympathized with the coup members. The government was thus inclined to opt for a lenient treatment. The conspirators were put on trial, and the British judge acquitted them, reasoning that there existed no legitimate Act of Union. In consequence, the officers could not be sentenced based on the Act, while the entire southern presence in the north became legally questionable. The ruling's wider implications was generally ignored in Somalia at the time, but later became important for northerners who wanted to justify the separation of Somaliland from Somalia. Regardless, the Somali government accepted the ruling and released the junior officers.

=== Social, political and economic marginalisation === The northern dissatisfaction with the constitution and terms of unification was a subject that the successive civilian governments continued to ignore. The northerns, especially the majority Isaaq, believed that the unified state would be divided federally (north and south) and that they would receive a fair share of representation post unification. The south proceeded to dominate all of the important posts of the new state, this included the President, Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Minister of Interior and Minister of Foreign Affairs posts all given to politicians hailing from the south. The political marginalisation that majority of northerners felt was further exacerbated by economic deprivation, the north received just under 7 percent of nationally disbursed development assistance by the late 1970s, as more than 95% of all development projects and scholarships were distributed in the south. One example is cited by Hassan Megag Samater, the former director in charge of the Ministry of Education in Somaliland, he states that he had handed his post in 1966 with the northern region having "several hundred schools at all levels, from elementary schools to college. By the last year of the Barre regime, there was not a single school functioning at full strength."

1969 coup

In October 1969 the military seized power in a coup following the assassination of President Abdirashid Shermarke and the ensuing political parliamentary debate on succession which ended in a deadlock. The army banned political parties, suspended the constitution and closed the National Assembly, General Siad Barre was chosen as the head of state and presided over the supreme revolutionary council. The new regime outlawed political dissent and employed a heavy handed approach in managing the state. The United Nations Development Programme stated that "the 21-year regime of Siyad Barre had one of the worst human rights records in Africa." The new regime became a client state of the Soviet Union and on the first anniversary of the coup officially adopted 'Scientific socialism as its core ideology.

Prelude

Ethio-Somali War

Successive Somali governments had continually supported the cause of Somali irredentism and the concept of 'Greater Somalia', a powerful sentiment many Somalis carried, as a core goal of the state. This particularly had strong support from the Isaaq clan who notably sent many volunteers, especially in 1976 as they joined WSLF guerrilla insurgencies and sent many volunteers a year before the war took place. Another factor behind the strong support from the Isaaq was the fact that the border that was drawn between Ethiopia and Somalia cut off important grazing grounds for Isaaq tribesmen. Barre along with the Supreme Revolutionary Council, to entrench their rule and in an attempt to regain the Somali Region of Ethiopia, launched a war against Ethiopia in 1977, this war was referred to in Somalia as 'The War for Western Somalia'. The Soviet Union, which at the time was allied to both Somalia and Ethiopia turned against Barre, and (with their allies) provided enough support to the Ethiopian army to defeat the Somali forces and force a withdrawal from the Somali region of Ethiopia.

=== Displacement of Isaaq and arming of refugees === All of Somalia felt the impact of the Ogaden War defeat, however the northern region (where Isaaqs live) experienced the majority of the physical and human destruction due to its geographical proximity to the fighting. Somalia's defeat in the Ethio-Somali War caused an influx of Ethiopian refugees (mostly ethnic Somalis and some Oromo) across the border to Somalia. By 1979, official figures reported 1.3 million refugees in Somalia, more than half of them were settled in Isaaq lands in the north. This has caused great deal of burden on both the local Isaaqs and state apparatus, especially coming off a costly war with Ethiopia, Somali studies scholar I. M. Lewis noted that "the stark fact remained that the economy of the country simply did not possess the resources to absorb so many uprooted people."

The presence of such a large number of refugees, especially when Somalia's total population at the time was 4.1 million (UN estimates) meant that virtually one out of every four people in Somalia was a refugee. The Barre regime exploited the presence of such a large number of refugees as means of seeking foreign aid, as well as a vehicle to displacing those deemed hostile to the state, notably the Isaaqs, Human Rights Watch noted that: "Northerners [Isaaqs] were dismissed from and not allowed to work in government offices dealing with refugee affairs, so that they would not discover the truth about the government's policies. Instead refugees, registered with UNHCR were given jobs in the offices dealing with refugee matters."As the state became increasingly reliant on international aid, aid resources allocated for the refugees caused further resentment from the local Isaaq residents, especially as they felt no effort was made on the government's part to compensate them for bearing the burden of the war. Furthermore, Barre heavily favoured the Ogaden refugees, who belonged to the same clan (Darod) as him. Due to these ties, the Ogaden refugees enjoyed preferential access to "social services, business licenses and even government posts." As expressed animosity and discontent in the north grew, Barre armed the Ogaden refugees, and in doing so created an irregular army operating inside Isaaq territories. The regime's use of armed refugees against local Isaaq populations in the north is also referenced in an Africa Watch report: "[M]any Ogadeni refugees were recruited into the WSLF. The WSLF was ostensibly being trained to fight Ethiopia to regain the Ogaden [Western Somalia], but, in fact, terrorized the Isaak [Isaaq] civilian population living in the border region, which came to fear them more than the Ethiopian army. Killings, rape and looting became common."Barre was essentially ensuring the loyalty of the Ogaden refugees through continued preferential treatment and protection at the expense of the local Isaaq who were not only bypassed for economic, social and political advancement but also forcefully suppressed by both the Somali Armed Forces and the Ogaden refugee militias. The settlement of Ogaden refugees in Isaaq territory, and the arming of these groups (which effectively created a foreign army in the north), further antagonised local Isaaq population. The armed Ogaden refugees, together with members of the Marehan and Dhulbahanta soldiers (whom were provoked and encouraged by the Barre regime) started a campaign of terror against the local Isaaqs as they raped women, murdered unarmed civilians, and prevented families from conducting proper burials. Barre ignored Isaaq complaints throughout the 1980s, this along with Barre's repression of criticism or discussions of the widespread atrocities in the north had the effect of turning the long-standing Isaaq disaffection into open opposition.

Afraad

One of the militias formed by the Ogaden refugees was the WSLF, officially created to fight Ethiopia and "reclaim ethnic Somali territory" in Ethiopia but it was used primarily against local Isaaq civilians and nomads. A Human Rights Watch's Africa Watch report states "The WSLF was ostensibly being trained to fight Ethiopia to regain the Ogaden, but, in fact, terrorized the Isaaq civilian population living in the border region, which came to fear them more than the Ethiopian army. Killing, rape and looting became common." As for the looting, the Ogaden refugees from Ethiopia ransacked homes that were vacated by Isaaq civilians out of clan hatred. The Isaaqs entrepreneurial disposition was also a factor of the large-scale looting, which the Ogadenis saw as 'undeserved':

In northern Somalia, the Isaaq clans confronted a massive influx of Ogadeni refugees from eastern Ethiopia whom Siyad encouraged to loot property, attack people, and destabilize cities. An instrument of oppression, the Ogadenis and the regular Somali army were viewed as alien forces sent to oppress the Isaaq. Clan animosity intersected with class hatred as rural Ogadeni clansmen harassed Isaaq entrepreneurs with a visceral hatred, convinced that their wealth and urban commodities were undeserved. The Isaaq tell hilarious, but pathetic stories about Ogadenis who stole modern household appliances from homes in Hargeisa, Borama and Burao, then retreated with their "trophies" to use them in the remote pasture lands devoid of electricity. As the WSLF, supported by the Barre regime, continued to attack and commit atrocities against the Isaaq, a delegation was sent to meet President Barre in 1979 to request making a stop to WSLF abuses. In spite of promises made to the Isaaq elders the violence against civilians and nomads by WSLF continued. The continued abuse of WSLF and the government's indifference to the suffering of Isaaq civilians and nomads prompted many Isaaq army officers to desert the army with a view to creating their own armed movement to fight Ethiopia, one that would also intimidate the WSLF and discourage further violence against Isaaq civilians. Their new movement, supported and financed by Isaaqs, was named Afraad (the fourth unit) and became operational in 1979. The Isaaq movement of Afraad immediately came into conflict with the Ogaden clan's faction of WSLF in the form of a number of bloody encounters between the two groups. Afraad's objective was to push the WSLF out of their strongholds (Isaaq territory) whereas the WSLF responded by retaliating further against Isaaq civilians living in the border region. The situation was further exacerbated by the appointment of Mohamed Hashi Gani, a cousin of President Siad Barre and fellow Marehan Darod, as the military commander of the northern regions with headquarters in Hargeisa in 1980. Gani's rule was especially harsh against Isaaq, he removed them from all key economic positions, seized their properties and placed the northern regions under emergency laws. He also ordered the transfer of Afraad away from the border region, giving the WSLF complete control of the border region, thus leaving Isaaq nomads in the area without any protection against WSLF violence. A United Nations inspection team that visited the area in 1988 reported that the Ethiopian refugees (Ogaden) were carrying weapons supplied by the Somali Army. The UN team reported that, with the Somali Army's encouragement, the Ogadeni refugees carried out extensive looting in several northern towns. This was followed by the systematic efforts to remove all Isaaqs from positions of power including the military, judiciary and security services. The transfer of power to non-Isaaq pro-government individuals further pushed Isaaq communities to rebel against Barre's regime

=== Mass arrests of civil society volunteers === In the early 1980s a voluntary service movement in Hargeisa officially called the Hargeisa Hospital Group was gaining ground. Nicknamed Uffo, which in Somali means the wind before the storm, the voluntary service group, consisting mostly of young professionals from the diaspora that were educated and had worked overseas, imported drugs and basic equipment using private funds while its members volunteered to work without pay, including work such as completely renovating the central hospital in the city. The movement spread throughout the city and soon became both a symbol of not only self-help and self-sufficiency but opposition to the Somalian government as well, especially opposition to the newly appointed governor of the northern region, General Mohamed Hashi Gani, a cousin of Siad Barre, who ran the region with an iron fist. Uffo eventually ceased being a regular organisation but rather became an opinion, a state of mind. The movement had already lacked a formal structure, a membership list or any form of dues. For General Hashi Gani, things had gone too far and the movement needed to be uprooted as soon as possible. The police subsequently started arresting Uffo sympathisers and anyone associated with them, often on the basis of family connections, friendships or rumours. It reached a point where even being seen in the company of a ‘suspect’ was enough grounds for a person to be put in custody. On 20 February 1982, all Uffo sympathisers that were arrested taken to court to face trial and were later sentenced to long jail sentences on 6 March. The trial of the Uffo members caused massive riots in the streets of Hargeisa that lasted for three days, remembered as the dhagaxtuur, "the stone throwing" in Somali. When ordinary civilians started throw stones at the police officers guarding the tribunal the police replied by opening fire on the crowd, killing approximately 30 civilians. In response, General Gani mobilized his forces and sent tanks and personnel carriers to try control squash the riots. This slaughter of volunteers that worked for the common good were so absurdly inappropriate and triggering that demonstrations soon occurred over the whole of the northern regions, leading to further casualties as the government cracked down on protestors. Africa Watch states:

"the arrest of the Hargeisa Group and their trial in February 1982 radicalised the student community and virtually turned schools into war zones between the Government and students"

Formation of the SNM

In 1977, a group of Somali expats in Saudi Arabia hailing from the Isaaq clan begun to collect funds for the aim of launching a newspaper covering Somali affairs. The grassroots group has grown into a semi-political party unofficially referred to as Somali Islamic Democratic party (later Somali National movement) Representing intellectuals, businessmen and prominent figures of the ex-pat community in Saudi Arabia. By the end of 1979, the group had a strong foothold in local Somali communities in Riyadh, Dhahran, Khobar and especially Jeddah where they set meetings for every 3 months discussing the deteriorating situation in the Somali Democratic Republic post Ogaden War. In 1980, the key leaders in the Saudi group determined that London provided a more favourable political climate for operating an international dissident group, therefore several people relocated to London to work full-time with the movement. The organisation was formally founded in Jeddah in April 1981 by an intellectual elite with the objective of overthrowing Barre's dictatorial regime.

=== The First Jeddah Congress === At the first congress in Jeddah, the organisation's name was officially changed to the "Somali National Movement" (SNM). Additionally, there was a call to action for the proposed funding of three full-time staff members. These individuals would go on to quit their jobs in Saudi Arabia to devote their time to the movement.

=== United Kingdom === The "Saudi group" reached out to the larger Somali population in United Kingdom soon after, and the organisation's formation was announced on 6 April 1981 in Connaught Hall, London. The said communities composed primarily of students, activists, intellectuals and African communities, particularly Somalis in London, Cardiff, Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool played greater role in raising funds and spreading awareness of the human rights violation under Mohamed Siad Barre regime. Due to political and logistical obstacles in Saudi Arabia, the Somali Islamic Democratic party decide to move its headquarters to London and along with Somali London Association, Somali Welfare Association, Somali National party (as well as members of the Somali Student Union) to converge and launch Somali National Movement in 1981. This press conference was reportedly attended by over 500 Somalis from across Europe. A four-page press release also criticised the nepotism, corruption and chaos into which Somalia endured under Siad Barre's dictatorship, and outlined the case to overthrow the regime to reestablish a just and democratic system. Additionally, the SNM advocated a mixed economy and a neutral foreign policy, therefore rejecting alignment with the Soviet Union or the United States and calling for the dismantling of all foreign military bases in the region. However, in the late 1980s a pro-Western foreign policy was adopted and the organisation favored United States involvement in a post-Siad Barre Somalia. Ideologically, the SNM was a Western-leaning movement and was described as "one of the most democratic movements in the Horn of Africa".

==== The First SNM Conference ==== On 18 October 1981, the organisation had its first official conference at the International Student Union of the University of London. There were 14 delegates drawn from England, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states in addition to the London-based steering committee. During this, conference it issued a press release entitled ‘A Better Alternative’, which stated that any Somali was welcome to join the movement as long as they believed in the SNM's principles.

Military activities

=== Consolidation === From February 1982, Isaaq army officers and fighters from the Fourth Brigade started moving into Ethiopia where they formed the nucleus of what would later become the armed wing of the SNM. In the same year, the SNM moved its headquarters from London to Dire Dawa, Ethiopia where 3 key military bases were established. From here the SNM successfully launched a guerrilla war against the Barre regime through incursions and hit and run operations on army positions within Isaaq territories, especially into the Waqooyi Galbeed and Togdheer regions, before returning to Ethiopia, including an attack on Somalian government forces in Wajale on 25 October 1982, killing 10 soldiers. The SNM continued this pattern of attacks from 1982 and throughout the 1980s, at a time the Ogaden Somalis (some of whom were recruited refugees) made up the bulk of Barre's armed forces who were committing acts of genocide against the Isaaq people of the north. It was clear then that the Barre regime had labelled the entire Isaaq population as enemy of the state. To weaken support for the SNM within the Isaaqs, the government enacted a policy of systematic use of large-scale violence against the local Isaaq population. A report by Africa Watch stated that the policy was "the outcome of a specific conception of how the war against the insurgents should be fought," with the logic being to "punish civilians for their presumed support for the SNM attacks and to discourage them from further assistance". A growing number of northern civilian recruits and defectors from the Somali army, drawn almost exclusively from the Isaaq clan, were shaped into a guerrilla force and trained to produce a hard-core of disciplined fighters. Although the Ethiopians were said to have initially only supplied ammunition, Isaaq recruits came with their own arms in addition the equipment seized from the Somalian army. Soon after, the Somalian army established the "Isaaq Exterminator" command which aimed to ethnically cleanse the Isaaq population. Over the following years, the SNM made numerous clandestine military incursions into northwest Somalia. Although these attacks never posed a direct threat to the regime's control of the area, such activities and the boldness and tenacity of its small force were a constant irritation to the Barre regime. According to Hassan Isse, 1985–86 was the most effective period of guerrilla warfare by the SNM against the Somalian regime whereby its operations extended southwards with support from Dir clansmen which would later call themselves the "Southern SNM". Throughout the war, the SNM used vehicles it had seized from the Somalian government, such as teknikos equipped with light and medium weapons and BM-21 rocket launchers. The SNM possessed antitank weapons such as Sovet B-10 tubes as well as RPG-7s while for air defense the SNM operated Soviet 30mm and 23mm guns as well, a dozen Soviet ZU23 2s as well as Czech-made twin-mounted 30mm ZU30s. In addition, the SNM also maintained a small fleet consisting of armed speed boats that operated from the ports of Maydh and Xiis towns in Sanaag region.

Mandera assault

On 2 January 1983, the SNM launched its first military operation against the Somalian government. Operating from Ethiopian bases, commando units attacked Mandera Prison near Berbera and freed a group of northern dissidents. The assault liberated more than 700 political prisoners according to SNM reports; subsequent independent estimates indicated that approximately about a dozen government opponents escaped. Simultaneously, SNM commando units raided the Cadaadle armoury near Berbera and escaped with an undetermined amount of arms and ammunition. Directed by Colonel Mohamed Hashi Lihle, it was deemed to be the SNM's "most striking initial military success" and thought to have produced a more coherent and better organised opposition force. Lihle's speech to the freed Mandera prisoners:

O prisoners, you are from everywhere.'- Now we will release you. You have three options to choose from: (1) whoever wants to join the SNM, as we are fighting the regime, you can come and join the Jihad (struggle); (2) whoever wants to go and join his family, we will help you get back home; (3) whoever wants to join the regime, you should know we pushed them back to Abdaal when we came; so go to them and we will not do anything to you until you reach them. But be careful: we might attack you later and then our bullets will hurt you. So choose one of these options. New African Magazine in 1989 states:

The SNM is very popular among the Somalis especially in the Northern Regions. Within the six-year period that they were operating from Ethiopia, they carried out many successful military operations and created military heroes like Mohamed Ali, Colonel Lihle, and Captain Ibrahim Kodbur.

=== Birjeex Operation === On 8 April 1983, the National Security Service, Somalia's intelligence agency that reported directly to Siad Barre, arrested high-ranking SNM member Abdullahi Askar, who was conducting a covert operation in Hargeisa, near the National Cinema at night and transferred him to Birjeeh, a former military headquarters. The next morning, he was handed over to the command of the 26th Division of the Somali National Army, commanded by Mohamed Hashi Gani, a cousin of Siad Barre. Throughout the duration of his imprisonment he was subject to brutal torture in an attempt by the military junta to extract information from him about the whereabouts of SNM members and other classified information. It was planned that on 12 April Abdullahi Askar would be taken to Hargeisa Poetry and Entertainment Council on the occasion for the 23rd anniversary of the establishment of the Somali Armed Forces. The goal was to exhibit a demoralized and battered Abdullahi Askar, bleeding and half-naked in front of an audience, presenting him as "the defeated SNM", to dispel rumors that he had escaped military custody and to ensure that he was not missing, and that if he were absent there was little he could do. The day before that was due to happen, on 11 April, an SNM rescue mission consist of five armed men in a landcruiser, led by Ibrahim Ismail Mohamed (nicknamed Koodbuur), arrived at the building where he was held and after a short firefight managed to free Abdullahi from custody. During the firefight that ensued the squad lost a fighter, Said Birjeh while two Somali army soldiers were killed. The SNM fighters managed to escape and eventually cross the border back into Ethiopia.

=== Hijacking of Somali Airlines Boeing 707 === On 24 November 1984, a group of three armed SNM fighters led by Awil Adami Burhani boarded and seized a Somali Airlines Boeing 707 carrying 130 people (118 passengers and 12 crew members) on a flight from Mogadishu to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Among the passengers on the flight were a senior American diplomat, two Italians, two South Yemen nationals, a North Yemen national, an Egyptian diplomat and a United Nations staff member. The fighters threatened to blow up the plane if the Somalian government did not release a number of SNM-affiliated political prisoners, who would after their release be sent to Djibouti. Another demand was for the execution of seven Isaaq students, The oldest being 18, who were convicted of dissent, and whose execution was due to happen on that day, to be called off by the Somalian government and for international guarantees to be given for the youths' safety should they be released. The plane attempted to land in Aden, however, the South Yemeni authorities refused to grant the plane permission to land, which lead to the aircraft subsequently landing in Djibouti before taking off again and landing at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa. After four days of tense negotiations between the SNM and the Somalian government, brokered by Italy and the local Ethiopian authorities, the Somalian government conceded to the demands made by the SNM and released the political prisoners as well as the youths that were due to be executed.

==== Other attacks in 1984 ==== The hijacking wasn't the only attack the SNM conducted that year. On 11 June, SNM rebels clashed with Somali government troops near Hargeisa, killing six government soldiers. The SNM rebels also launched a military attack on government forces on 13 November 1984. In December 1984 the SNM reportedly had a presence in the mountains surrounding Sheikh.

=== Golis offensive === On 25 November 1984, the SNM launched a hit and run attack in the Golis mountain chain, specifically the mountain of Meriya which is located at a strategic position just northeast of the city of Burao. The attack was conducted by the 1st Brigade based in Balidhaye, a town in the Somali region of Ethiopia, and was commanded by Mohamed Kahin Ahmed, the current Interior Minister of Somaliland. The brigade was split into three groups; one led by Abdillahi Askar and consisting of 140 soldiers would attack the western portions in the Awdal region, specifically the town of Dilla where the 26th Division of the SNA was positioned, one led by Mohamed Kahin Ahmed consisting of 130 soldiers would assault the Golis mountains themselves and the mountain of Meriya as well as the Burdhab mountains in Saraar, and a third one led by Ibrahim Abdullahi (nicknamed Dhegaweyne) would assault the Sheikh mountains near Berbera. On 27 November, Mohamed Kahin's contingent reached the mountain of Meriya where fierce clashes occurred and Mohamed's contingent inflicted heavy casualties on Barre's forces before retreating back to their base in Balidhaye along with the other two groups, having fulfilled their mission.

==== Government retaliation ==== In response to this surprising loss inflicted on Barre's forces, the Somalian government began executing innocent civilians as revenge, accusing them of allegedly being members of the SNM and aiding them. On 20 December 1984, almost a month after the hit and run attack conducted by the SNM, a military court in Burao sentenced 45 civilians, mostly elders and teachers, to death and executed them the same day. Military courts in Sheikh and Hargeisa had earlier in November also sentenced 48 civilians in total to death and executed them.

=== Burco-Duurray offensive === On 17 October 1984, the 1st Brigade of the SNM, led by Mohamed Kahin Ahmed, launched an offensive on the SNA contingency based in Burco-Duurray, a town in the Jarar zone in Ethiopia near the border with Somaliland. The 1st Brigade consisted of around 400 men at the time, while the SNA contingency based in the area consisted of 1,000 men, as well as 70 technicals and other heavy military vehicles. Heavy clashes ensued whereby the SNM lost 27 men, including the commander of SNM's military wing Mohamed Hashi Lihle, while the SNA lost 170 soldiers as well as 17 military vehicles.

=== Assassination of security officers === In late 1986, SNM fighters carried out an assassination operation targeting security officers belonging to the National Security Service of Somalia, the main intelligence agency of Barre's regime. Among those assassinated by the SNM include Ahmed Aden, the deputy intelligence chief of the northern regions, his deputy Ilyas and the intelligence chief of Hargeisa's Laqas district. Earlier that year, on 3 March, SNM rebels clashed with government troops near Hargeisa and Sibidhley, killing about 100 government soldiers. SNM rebels also killed 80 government troops in Hargeisa on 18 September.

=== Attacks in 1986-7 === On 20 January 1986 the SNM launched an attack on government forces in Borama, destroying a government security office, a police station and a bank. On the same day the SNM also attacked government army camps in Lebisagale, Qorilugud and Wadaamago. On 23 January 1987 SNM units attacked a platoon of the Somali army's 16th Division based in Duurey, killing five soldiers and injuring seven. On 1 February SNM units clashed with Southern reinforcements at Ged Debleh near Hargeisa, killing three senior military officers. On 2 February SNM forces blew up the police station in Luuq District in Gedo, southern Somalia, with the police station being entirely obliterated. On the same day, the SNM attacked Somali army positions in Gorayo Hume, killing 16 and setting the unit's food store and ammunition dump ablaze. In the same month however, another clash with Somali troops killed around 200 SNM rebels. On 29 June 1987 SNM units launched an attack on Somali regime forces stationed in Dabaqabad, 50 km southeast of Burao, leaving 14 dead and eight injured.

Liberation of Burao

The Somali National Movement attacked and captured the city of Burao (then the third largest city in the country) on Friday 27 May 1988. They captured the town in two hours and immediately took over the military compound at the airport (where the largest number of soldiers were stationed), the Burao central police station and the prison, where they freed political prisoners (including schoolchildren) from the city's main jail. The government forces retreated, regrouped at Goon-Ad just outside the city, and in the late afternoon, entered the centre of town. According to reports by Human Rights Watch's Africa Watch, the soldiers, upon entering the city, went on a rampage on 27 and 28 May. This included "dragging men out of their houses and shooting them at point blank range" and summary killing of civilians, the report also noted that "civilians of all ages who had gathered in the centre of town, or those standing outside their homes watching the events were killed on the spot. Among the victims were many students." There was also widespread looting by the soldiers, and some people were reportedly killed as a result. Following the first two days of the conflict, angered by the extent to which Isaaqs welcomed the SNM incursion, and frustrated by their inability to contain the SNM advance, the military started attacking the civilian population without restraint "as if it was the enemy". The military used "heavy artillery and tanks, causing severe damage, both to civilians and to property. Bazookas, machine guns, hand grenades and other weapons of mass destruction were also directed against civilian targets in Hargeisa which had also been attacked as well as in Burao."

A United States Congressional General Accounting Office team reported the Somali government's response to the SNM attack as follows:The Somali army reportedly responded to the SNM attacks in May 1988 with extreme force, inflicting heavy civilian casualties and damages to Hargeisa and Burao....The Somali military resorted to using artillery and aerial shelling in heavily populated urban centres in its effort to retake Burao and Hargeisa. A majority of the refugees we interviewed stated that their homes were destroyed by shelling despite the absence of SNM combatants from their neighbourhoods....The refugees told similar stories of bombings, strafings, and artillery shelling in both cities and, in Burao, the use of armored tanks. The majority saw their houses either damaged or destroyed by the shelling. Many reported seeing members of their families killed in the barrage....Refugee interviews conducted by Africa Watch described how the government separated the non-Isaaqs from the Isaaqs before the attack was initiated:As soon as the fighting broke out, the government used loudspeakers to sort the civilians out into Darood and Isaak. They would shout, "Who is from Galkayo? Mogadishu? Las Anod? Garoe?" [Non-Isaaq territory]. They appealed to the non-Isaaks to leave so they could burn the town and all those who remained behind. Most of the people from these towns left; the government provided them with transportation.