Ethiopia—Somalia conflicts (1960 s –2000 s )

Abstract

Abstract By 1945 ethnic Somalis lived in five East African states: British Somaliland, Italian Somaliland, French Somaliland, British Kenya, and independent Ethiopia. During decolonization in the 1950s, British and Italian Somaliland united to form the Republic of Somalia, which became independent in 1960. In a 1958 referendum, French Somaliland had voted against joining Somalia and gained independence as Djibouti in 1977. Pan‐Somalism, the desire to unite all Somalis in one nation‐state, gained popularity and prompted armed insurgency along the border with Ethiopia and Kenya in 1963 and 1964. Staging a military coup in Somalia in 1969, Siad Barre aspired to create a “Greater Somalia.” Somalia began to sponsor separatist groups in Ethiopia such as Eritrean insurgents in the north and the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) and ethnic Oromo rebels in the Ogaden Desert to the east. To gain a naval base at Berbera that would threaten western oil shipments, the Soviet Union militarily assisted the Barre regime. By 1977 Somalia's 35,000‐strong army had seven tank battalions with three hundred Soviet‐made tanks, and 22 mechanized infantry battalions with 350 armored personnel carriers. These were supported by 180 artillery pieces and 55 combat aircraft. Training was provided by four thousand Soviet personnel. A 1974 military coup overthrew the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, a long‐standing western ally, and created a period of instability in which separatist movements gained strength. This presented Barre with an opportunity to take the Ogaden. Although the Ethiopians outnumbered the Somalis in military personnel, the latter had more tanks, vehicles, and aircraft, which meant greater mobility. Furthermore, Ethiopia's best units were bogged down fighting insurgents in the north.