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23-588: Created in the aftermath of the 1978 coup attempt , the official purpose of the Hangash was to maintain surveillance over the Somali Armed Forces and the more widely known National Security Service (NSS). As the Barré government's crackdown on political activity became more severe, however, the Hangash acquired direct powers in civilian matters, overlapping with those of NSS. According to a 1993 Country Study published by

46-744: A guerrilla movement called the Somali Salvation Front , which was subsequently renamed the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) in 1979. The SSDF was the first of several opposition groups dedicated to ousting Barre's regime by force. The SSDF was originally a multi-clan organisation. The first SSDF chairman was Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, from the Majeerteen clan. The SSDF formally incorporated in Aden , South Yemen in October 1981 through

69-466: A Congress was convened. In 1988 the governments of Somalia and Ethiopia made some agreements to cease hostilities. The Ethiopian government started closing SSDF camps, arresting its leaders and seizing weapons. The Ethiopian government also closed the SSDF radio station, Radio Halgan, which had been broadcasting since 1981. In 1988 SSDF guerrillas started taking control over the western districts of Mudug and

92-613: A prominent port city and the commercial capital of the northeastern part of the country. In 1998, a homegrown constitutional conference was held in Garowe over a period of three months. Attended by SSDF representatives, traditional elders ( Issims ), members of the business community, intellectuals and other civil society members, the autonomous Puntland State of Somalia was subsequently officially established so as to deliver services, offer security, facilitate trade, and interact with both domestic and international partners. Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed

115-486: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 1978 Somali coup d%27%C3%A9tat attempt Coup attempt fails Military faction Alleged support: The 1978 Somali coup d'état attempt was a violent military coup attempt that took place in Somalia (then Somali Democratic Republic ) on 9 April 1978, against the regime of President Siad Barre . The United States Central Intelligence Agency estimated that

138-527: The Democratic Front for Salvation of Somalia , was a political and paramilitary umbrella organization in Somalia . Founded in 1978 by several army officers, it was the first of several opposition groups dedicated to ousting the authoritarian regime of Mohamed Siad Barre . With its power base mainly in the Majeerteen clan, SSDF played a significant role in the country's complex political landscape during

161-682: The Mengistu -led Derg ). The war was initiated by President Siad Barre, who had himself come into power a decade earlier in the 1969 Somali coup d'état . A United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) memorandum written the following month speculated that the coup was in response to Barre ordering the arrest and execution of officers that participated in the Ogaden War. The officers believed that Barre had intentionally used troops from other clans as "cannon fodder" while officers from his own Marehan clan were given safer orders. The report concluded that

184-805: The Somali Civil War . Barre blamed the coup attempt on the Eastern Bloc , namely Soviet Union and Cuba , countries that supported Ethiopia in the Ogaden War, calling them "new imperialists". The CIA determined that the Soviet Union was not behind the coup attempt, but were seeking to remove Barre. Immediately following the coup, Somalia began receiving foreign aid from the People's Republic of China . Somali Salvation Democratic Front Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) ( Somali : Jabhadda Diimuqraadiga Badbaadinta Soomaaliyeed ), initially known as

207-582: The Darood clan, were bought over by Barre. Many SSDF fighters defected to the regime. By 1985 SSDF had ceased most of their military operations against the Siad Barre regime. In 1986 an SSDF congress was held, which elected Dr. Hassan Ali Mire as chairman. He resigned in 1988, leaving a power vacuum in the organization. Musse Islan was elected leader by the SSDF Central Committee to hold the position until

230-465: The Somali Army and police force seized power without encountering armed opposition — essentially a bloodless takeover. The putsch was spearheaded by Major General Mohamed Siad Barre , who at the time commanded the army. For refusing to support Barre's seizure of power, numerous political figures were imprisoned. Among these was Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed , Somalia's former military attaché to Moscow , who

253-692: The U.S. Library of Congress, "[e]ventually, the Hangash, which operated without legal authority, became more feared than the NSS". When the NSS was formally dissolved in 1990, many of its activities were subsumed by the Hangash and other institutions comprising the security apparatus of the Barré regime, such as the Mobile Military Court (MMC), the Regional Security Council (RSC), and the Victory Pioneers . This Somalia -related article

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276-528: The coup as justification to purge members of the clans involved in the coup from government and military positions. One of the plotters, Lieutenant Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed , escaped to Ethiopia and founded an anti-Siad Barre organization initially called the Somali Salvation Front (SSF; later the Somali Salvation Democratic Front , SSDF), initiating the Somali Rebellion and eventually

299-408: The coup, led by Colonel Mohamed Osman Irro , involved around 24 officers, 2,000 soldiers, and 65 tanks. Following the failed coup, 17 alleged ringleaders, including Osman, were summarily executed by firing squad . The coup attempt was staged by a group of disgruntled Army officers, led by Colonel Mohamed Osman Irro , in the aftermath of the disastrous Ogaden War against Ethiopia (then ruled by

322-437: The late 1970s and 2000s. And Succeeded by the establishment in 1998 of the autonomous Puntland state in northeastern Somalia. On October 15, 1969, while paying a visit to the northern town of Las Anod , Somalia's then President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was shot dead by a policeman in his security team. His assassination was quickly followed by a military coup d'état on October 21, 1969 (the day after his funeral), in which

345-587: The merger of three groups, Somali Salvation Front, Somali Workers Party and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Somalia . An 11-member Central Committee was constituted, of which the SSF leaders held 7 seats. Some former CC members of the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party were part of the leadership of the new group. A military structure was built up, supported by Ethiopia and Libya . In

368-474: The more leftist members. The SSF clique wanted to maintain the domination of SSDF of Majeerteen and Darood clans. They made a deal with the Ethiopian government to purge the leftists. In 1984 the Mengistu government jailed many leading SSDF members, such as then colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed . In 1984, Mohamed Abshir Waldo was installed as provisional SSDF Chairman. From 1983 onwards many leaders, belonging to

391-465: The officers involved in the coup "were motivated at least as much by long-standing ethnic animosities toward Barre as by disenchantment with his regime in the aftermath of the Ogaden debacle". The coup was launched on 9 April 1978. The bulk of the fighting concluded within the day. Gunfire broke out at the village of Afgoy, south of the capital Mogadishu , and small-arms fire and explosions were heard on

414-519: The outskirts of the capital. The coup was originally planned to start in Hargeisa , but Barre likely knew of the attempt in advance and was able to disrupt the coup before it launched, as well as position forces loyal to himself in the capital. The CIA estimated that the coup involved around 24 officers, 2,000 soldiers, and 65 tanks. Following the failed coup, 17 alleged ringleaders, including Osman, were summarily executed by firing squad . Barre used

437-566: The relations between the Ethiopian government and SSDF. In any case, the action was swiftly repulsed, and according to the U.S. Department of State, resulted in severe reprisals against the Majeerteen clan; the SSDF itself would be implicated in killings of members of Siad's own Marehan clan, in Cel-Habred in the Galgadud region in the early 1980s. A conflict soon emerged between the former SSF and

460-501: The southern areas of Nugaal and Bari regions. After the fall of the Barre regime, the SSDF (based largely in northeastern Somalia) was divided in two factions. One was led by General Mohamed Abshir Muse (chairman), who at the time was based in Saudi Arabia , and the other was led by Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed (deputy chairman). The general secretary was Mohamed Abshir Waldo . A congress

483-462: The summer of 1982 SSDF forces took part in a 1982 Ethiopian-Somali Border War against Siad Barre . The campaign was called off when the United States initiated emergency military aid to Somalia . However some territory, including two district towns, had come under Ethiopian and SSDF control. The Mengistu regime declared that the territory was part of Ethiopia, something which created problems in

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506-479: Was held in August 1994. Former Prime Minister of Somalia, Abdirizak Haji Hussein , was offered the chairmanship of the SSDF by a group of clan leaders, but declined. Over the next several years, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed would emerge as the pre-eminent leader in northeastern Somalia. In 1992, he marshalled forces to successfully expel an Islamist extremist group linked to Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya that had taken over Bosaso ,

529-434: Was imprisoned for several years by the new military regime. In 1978, together with a group of officials mainly from his own Majeerteen ( Darod ) clan, Ahmed participated in a failed attempt to overthrow Barre's dictatorial administration. Most of the people who had helped plot the coup were summarily executed, but Ahmed and several colonels managed to escape abroad. Later that year, in neighboring Ethiopia , Ahmed formed

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