[72], By 1982 the SNM transferred their headquarters to Dire Dawa in Ethiopia,[73] as both Somalia and Ethiopia at the time offered safe havens of operation for resistance groups against each other. An emblematic aspect of Siad Barre's government's "policy of genocide towards the Issak group of clans" was the laying of "over one-million unmarked mines, booby traps and other lethal devices in the Northern Region"[171] over the duration of the conflict. However, when its goal is to exterminate and expel large numbers of people based on their group identity alone, it becomes clan cleansing. 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. [162], Atrocities committed by the Barre's forces against Isaaqs included the strafing (i.e. [63] 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 Isaak civilian population living in the border region, which came to fear them more than the Ethiopian army. [158][159] These men included professionals, businessmen, and teachers. According to Human Rights Watch's Africa Watch, some 700 Isaaqs from the armed forces were brought to one prison, this particular prison was already overcrowded, an additional 70 military personnel were then also brought for detention (40 from Gabiley and 30 from Hargeisa). The report noted one case where a 13-year-old girl from Erigavo was raped by six government soldiers, it also stated that "looting, raping and bashing are commonplace. [99] The Siad Barre regime targeted civilian members of the Isaaq group specifically,[100] especially in the cities of Hargeisa and Burco and to that end employed the use of indiscriminate artillery shelling and aerial bombardment against civilian populations belonging to the Isaaq clan.[101][102]. [154] The government continued to commit atrocities in Sheikh despite the lack of SNM activity there. The looting has resulted in the opening of what are called "Hargeisa markets" throughout the region, including Mogadishu and Ethiopia, were former residents have spotted their possessions. [44] 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,[45] as more than 95% of all development projects and scholarships were distributed in the south. Bosnian Genocide - History [95], In 1987, Siad Barre, the president of Somalia, frustrated by lack of success of the army against insurgents from the Somali National Movement in the north of country, offered the Ethiopian government a deal in which they stop sheltering and giving support to the SNM in return for Somalia giving up its territorial claim over Ethiopia's Somali Region. [142] Those confirmed to be Isaaq were taken to the Hangash compound where their belongings and money were confiscated. Investigating genocide in Somaliland | Features | Al Jazeera 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."[117]. Whilst human right have been deteriorating for some years in Somaliawe believe that the government must bear a particularly heavy responsibility for events over the last six months.[146]. At the time, some Isaaqs were fighting for independence, and to eliminate the threat, Barre tried to exterminate all of them. An instrument of oppression, the Ogadenis and the regular Somali army were viewed as alien forces sent to oppress the Isaaq. The response culminated in the bombing and artillery bombardment of Hargeisa to a point of virtual destruction. Bosnian Canadian Community have escaped the Bosnia Genocide . Now that the civil war has ended, the victims of mines have been principally civilians, many of whom are women and children.[174]. The exact number of land-mines is unknown but estimated to be between one and two million, most of them planted in what was then known as northern Somalia. [77], In January 1986, Barre's son-in-law and viceroy in the north General Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan, who was Barre's bodyguard before he married his daughter[78] reportedly told Isaaq nomads at a waterhole "if you Isaaqs resist, we will destroy your towns, and you will inherit only ashes". 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. [155] Similar to the case in Berbera, Erigavo, Sheikh and other towns in the north, there was no SNM activity in Mogadishu, moreover, Mogadishu was geographically removed from the situation in the north of the country due to its position in the southern regions, nevertheless the Somali government committed to its policy of persecution of Isaaq civilians in Mogadishu. [185], Taisier M. Ali states that Barre assuaged the Majerteen, and targeted other groups like the Hawiye. Since President Barre is also the Minister of Defence -- the previous holder of that portfolio, General Mohammad Ali Samatar, having been promoted Prime Minister on January 30, 1987 -- the report is seemingly confined to family members. [49], 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. Much of Hargeisa appears to be a "ghost town," and many homes and building are virtually empty. The Somali Government has bombed towns and strafed fleeing residents and used artillery indiscriminately, according to the officials. . The majority were from the Czech Republic, Russia, Pakistan and Belgium. These displaced people are hiding in the bush without adequate access to food and medical supplies.[146]. Following the SNM attacks on the major towns of Hargeisa and Burao, government forces bombed the towns causing over 400,000 people to flee the atrocities across the border into Ethiopia, where they are now located in refugee camps, living in appalling conditions, with inadequate water, food, shelter and medical facilities. Most of the people from these towns left; the government provided them with transportation.[119]. [121], In addition to using both air and ground military capabilities against the Isaaq, the Somali government also hired South African and Rhodesian mercenaries[167][168] to fly and maintain its fleet of British Hawker Hunter aircraft and carry out bombing missions over Isaaq cities. [Non-Isaaq territory]. Social, political and economic marginalisation, Displacement of Isaaq and arming of refugees, Aerial bombardment and destruction of Burao, Aerial bombardment and destruction of Hargeisa, Arrests and killings of Isaaq passengers on the ship "Emviyara", Attacks on Isaaq nomads by Ogadeni refugees in the countryside, Use of mercenaries by the Somali government, Nafziger (2002), War Hunger and Displacement, p.191, Oxford University Press, Geldenhuys (2009), Contested States in World Politics, Palgrave Macmillan, Strategic Survey, 19891990 (1990), p.87, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, "Somali torture victim will face his abuser after 31 years in US court", "Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics", "The Heritage of War and State Collapse in Somalia and Somaliland: Local-Level Effects, External Interventions and Reconstruction". Massacres followed, as did the killing of livestock, the use of landmines to blow up reservoirs, the burning of huts, arrests and detentions. They were accused of helping the SNM. Many of the 43 victims had been detained in the city's central prison for some time on different charges. A Somali woman and her emaciated baby in 1992. [117] The military used "heavy artillery and tanks, causing severe damage, both to civilians and to property. Somalia intervention, United States-led military operation in 1992-93 mounted as part of a wider international humanitarian and peacekeeping effort in Somalia that began in the summer of 1992 and ended in the spring of 1995. Reports from eye witnesses speak of the town of Hargeisa as mere rubble, devastated to the point that it is barely recognizable even to its inhabitants.[136]. Why Did Ratko Mladic Commit Genocide Against Bosnia's Muslims? British soldiers training in Canada will soon be firing at foam targets with names like "Bosnian Male RPG" and "Somali Male AK 47". [74] It was clear then that the Barre regime had labelled the entire Isaaq population as enemy of the state. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) recorded at least 596 civilian casualties, including 296 killings, by early August. Upon discovering these stashes, soldiers removed the jewellery and other valuables and placed booby-traps or mines in these hiding places. [125] Isaaq military officers were one of the first groups to be arrested. In describing the government's response to the SNM offensive, the report observed: The government response to the attack has been particularly brutal and without regard to civilian casualties in fact there is ample evidence that civilian casualties have been deliberately inflicted so as to destroy the support base of the SNM, which is composed mainly of people from the Isaaq tribe. [172], The Barre government also mined water sources during its campaign against Isaaq civilians. These included long-range artillery guns that were placed on the hilltops near the Hargeisa Zoo, artillery guns were also placed on the hilltops behind the Badhka (an open ground used for public executions by the government). [33][34] Rape was also used as a weapon against Isaaqs. EXCLUSIVE: Canada helping Brits buy 'Bosnian' and 'Somali' targets for Their property and assets were also seized. 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. [142] Eight of the passengers detained were killed, the remaining 21 were imprisoned in Berbera and later released. Hundreds of civilians were killed,[147] and SNM forces did not reach that part of the country until 1989. More than 10,000 people were killed in the first month after the conflict began in late May, according to reports reaching diplomats here. In his absence, he was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity. The Legacy of Black Hawk Down | History | Smithsonian Magazine After the republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina declared its independence in March 1992, Bosnian Serb forces waged a systematic campaignincluding forced deportation, murder, torture and rapeto expel. In February 1992, Physicians for Human Rights sent a medical team to the region to examine the scale of the problem of land-mines left over from the 19881991 conflict, they have described the situation as follows: They [mines] are most prevalent in the countryside surrounding two of Somaliland's principal cities, Hargeisa and Burao, and in the pastoral and agricultural lands west of Burao. by . Large areas of grazing land in Zeyla were also mined One consequence of landmines was the cessation of sheep exports to Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Observers believe that Hargeisa is now composed largely of dependents of the military, which has a substantial, visible presence in Hargeisa, a significant number of Ogadeni refugees, and squatters who are using the properties of those who fled.[140]. [123], As news of the SNM advance on Burao reached government officials in Hargeisa, all banks were ordered to close, and army units surrounded the banks to prevent people from approaching. [143] "More than 700 experienced worse deaths than had occurred elsewhere in the region. No soldier or member of the security forces has ever been disciplined or prosecuted for abuses, which highlights the general lack of accountability. From there the SNM successfully launched a guerrilla war against the Barre regime through incursions and hit and run operations on army positions within Isaaq territories before returning to Ethiopia. Bosnia: A dangerous crisis is brewing in the Balkans | CNN [52], 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. The use of land-mines by government forces against civilians was especially damaging in this particular region due to majority of Isaaqs (and other northern Somalis) being pastoral nomads, reliant on the grazing of sheep, goats, and camels. Physicians for Human Rights describe one tactic employed by Barre's troops used in their campaign against the Isaaq people of the north: One of the cruelest and clearly unlawful tactics used by Siad Barre's troops was the deliberate mining of civilian homes. Kingofjojoland Answer: The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) recorded a total of 1,154 civilian casualties by mid-November. In less than two weeks, their forces systematically murdered more than 8,000 Bosniaks (Bosnian. [183] The US State Department denied the account, but NBC stood by its story when questioned by a Congressional office. A Mobile Military Court sentenced 25 Isaaq men to death; they were executed the same day. The massacre, which was the worst episode of mass murder within Europe since . In many cases, the Isaaq victims were left unburied "to be eaten by wild beasts". Extensive looting has taken place even though the military has controlled the city since late July 1988. [155], On government orders, all Isaaq senior officials were proscribed from leaving the country for fear they would joining the SNM. The government started a program of creating paramilitary groups among the Ogaden refugees as well as conscripting them into the national army, it also encouraged the creation of armed militia groups among members of the Darod (the clan of Siad Barre). [177] It is reported that thousands of people were affected by mining in that area, by either abandoning their farmlands entirely due to land-mines or by severe restrictions on farming due to the presence of mines in their fields or the roads network.[177]. "[145], Human Rights Watch's Africa Watch also reported the case of 11 Isaaq men, some of whom were nomads, being arrested by the government on the outskirts of Berbera. Tens of thousands of internally . Aid officials said that up to 800,000 people almost all of them Issaq nomads have been displaced as a result of the civil war. A number of genocide scholars (including Israel Charny,[110] Gregory Stanton,[111] Deborah Mayersen,[112] and Adam Jones[113]) as well as international media outlets, such as The Guardian,[114] The Washington Post[115] and Al Jazeera[11][116] among others, have referred to the case as one of genocide. [67] 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. The Guardian reported the brutal campaign by the Somali government against the Isaaq: Hundred of Thousands of people have been killed, dispersed or bombed out of their homes in northern Somalia after government military operations which Western aid workers say are little short of genocide. It published a report "to draw attention to recent events in Somalia which have resulted in civil war, a huge refugee problem, persecution of a large section of the population along tribal lines and widespread human rights violations". In addition to the killings, more than 20,000 civilians were expelled from the areaa process known as ethnic cleansing. "[85] In addition, he called for "the reconstruction of the Local Council [in Isaaq settlements] in such a way as to balance its present membership which is exclusively from a particular people [the Isaaq]; as well as the dilution of the school population with an infusion of [Ogaden] children from the Refugee Camps in the vicinity of Hargeisa". [53] Ideologically, the SNM was a Western-leaning movement and was described as "one of the most democratic movements in the Horn of Africa".[71]. 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. Human Rights Watch reported that the refugees often "rampaged through villages and nomadic encampments near their numerous camps and claimed the lives of thousands of others, mostly nomads". Detainees were taken to a number of locations including Birjeeh (a former military headquarters of the 26th Sector of the Somali Armed Forces), Malka-Durduro (a military compound), the Central Prison of Hargeisa, the headquarters of NSS (National Security Service), the headquarters of the Military Police as well as other secret detention centres. President George H.W. The massacre, in an enclave supposed to be under UN . Rape, of young and older women, is routine. [144] Some of these villages included Da'ar-buduq, which lies half-way between Hargeisa and Berbera; Dara-Godle, which lies 20 kilometers southwest of Berbera; Sheikh Abdal, near the central Mandera Prison; Dubato; Dala, located east of Mandera Prison; and Lasa-Da'awo. [124] A significant number of civilian deaths at the time occurred as a result of government soldiers robbing them, those who refused to hand valuables (watches, jewellery and money) or were not quick enough to comply with soldiers' demands were shot on the spot. "[176] In describing the prevalence of land-mines especially in the countryside surrounding cities inhabited by Isaaq, the Somalia Handbook states, "Large patterned minefields, exceeding 100,000 mines have been emplaced in sections surrounding the city. [50] The Soviet Union, which at the time was allied to both Somalia and Ethiopia turned against Barre,[51] 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. [155], On 21 July 1989,[157] following religious disturbances that occurred a week earlier, 47 middle-class Isaaq men living in the capital city of Mogadishu were taken from their homes in the middle of the night, they were then transported to Jasiira, a communal beach west of Mogadishu and summarily executed. The report also stated that the city was without electricity or a functioning water system, and that the Somali government was "actively soliciting multilateral and bilateral donors for reconstruction assistance"[140] of cities primarily destroyed by the government's own forces. The city itself was destroyed. [35] Human Rights Watch states that this unit, along with other branches of the military, were responsible for terrorising Isaaq nomads in the countryside. 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. [144], Like Berbera, Erigavo was an Isaaq inhabited city that the SNM did not attack, it has experienced no armed conflict between the SNM and the Somali army for at least several months, yet civilian Isaaqs have suffered both killings and arrests there at the hands of the army and other government forces. In the Valley of Death: Somaliland's Forgotten Genocide One incident following a brief capture of the town in 1989 saw 60 Isaaq elders, who could not escape the city due to the difficult mountainous terrain, get taken out of their homes by government forces and were "shot by a firing squad against a wall of the public relations office". [18][19] The number of civilian deaths in this massacre is estimated to be between 50,000 and 100,000, according to various sources,[1][9][20] whilst local reports estimate the total civilian deaths to be upwards of 200,000 Isaaq civilians. Until about eight months ago, the urbanised population of Issaqi were concentrated in Hargeisa, Berbera and Burao. Bosnian genocide (1995) Massacres of Hutus (1996-1997) Effacer le tableau (2002-2003) Darfur genocide (2003-) Yazidi genocide (2014-2017) Uyghur genocide (2014-) Rohingya genocide (2016-) Related topics Raphael Lemkin Anti-communist mass killings Indonesia 1965-66 Atrocities in the Congo Free State Compulsory sterilization Democide Ethnic cleansing Among the victims were many students. The cash-strapped government spends $50,000 on the war crimes commission each year, and is building a $300,000 museum to showcase. Viegrad's rape camps: Denial and erasure - Al Jazeera Some 50,000 people are believed to have lost their lives there as a result of summary executions, aerial bombardments and ground attacks. The government's victimisation of the Isaaq was not limited to northern regions susceptible to SNM attacks.
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