#Ogaden

[yearningforunity]

Abyssinian woman of 60 who killed 50 Italians at Adowa will fight again . Farlenekh , and old Abyssinian woman who fought in the battle of Adowa and saw Italy crushingly defeated 40 years ago , has asked Emperor haile Selassie for a mule and a rifle so that she can again fight the Italians in the Ogaden . 26 September 1935, Addis Ababa Ethiopia

[fivepercentgodsandearths]

East African History and Politics.

[saxafimedianetwork]

The Politics of Transition and Succession in Jubaland

Uncertainity grips #Jubaland as reports of Madoobe's poor health spark succession debate. With over a decade at the helm, His potential exit raises questions about clan dynamics, federal influence & regional elections. A peaceful transition is no guarantee. #Somalia

Continue reading The Politics of Transition and Succession in Jubaland

[captain-price-unofficially]

Armored casualties of the Ogaden War including Soviet-made T-34/85 and US-made M47 and M60A1 tanks in Eastern Ethiopia late 1977

[blackros78]

Members of the Western Somali Liberation Front in 1977 at the beginning of the Ogaden War.

[beerlula-00]

Because of the successful Somali series such as Haboon and Arday, and you start to think we should have series based on Somali history including Ogaden war but one book makes you take back everything.

Reading ‘Maxbus nr 77’ made me realize how the wounds of Ogaden war are still unhealed. The trauma, the rage, the hatred those wounds could instantly stir up is insane.

[lightdancer1]

To wrap up today, the start of Somalia's long catastrophe begins here:

The war in the Ogaden was the starting gun on the subsequent collapse of Somalia into an anarchistic den of warlords, and on the future history of warfare with the post-monarchical Ethiopian regime waging multiple brutal wars with Eritrea. For Ethiopia, too, the long sequence of monarchies going back to ancient Aksum to the present finally and bluntly came to an end with a Marxist putsch against the same Hailie Selassie deposed by the other 20th Century 'paradise over a bridge of corpses' extremists. The US in turn backed General Siad Biarre, whose overthrow in the 1990s would lead to one of the forgotten wars the US waged in Somalia.

The result was that at the Battle of Harar the Soviet-backed Derg regime defeated the US-backed Biarre regime, providing one of the many reasons why the ultimate disintegration of the USSR blindsided so many people in and out of the USSR. Globally, outwardly, the USSR looked like it was winning, not losing, the Cold War.

[zvaigzdelasas]

International recognition has been a long-sought goal for Somaliland, a region in northern Somalia that has enjoyed de facto independence since 1991. But the groundbreaking agreement has created shockwaves in the region and fury in Somalia, which views it as a hostile violation of Somalia’s sovereignty.[...]

While Somaliland insists that recognition has already been agreed upon and settled, Addis Ababa has been reluctant to firmly address the matter of statehood. In a published communique, the government said it had yet to formally recognise Somaliland. But social media posts by Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs official Mesganu Arga this week appear to support Somaliland’s interpretation of the deal.

The ambiguity of the messaging continues to fuel speculation. A draft of the agreement has yet to be published, but all indications suggest that it would all but nullify a 2018 tripartite treaty cementing ties between Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea, details of which were similarly never made public.[...]

Domestically, conflict with Faro militiamen in Amhara and unrest in Oromia has weakened key support bases for Abiy. Failure to make payments on Ethiopia’s eurobonds at the end of 2023 has also heightened pressure on the prime minister.[...]

There are also domestic woes in Somaliland, which has known relative stability for decades. The enclave is struggling with an uprising by local clan militia who pushed its forces out of the disputed town of Las Anod in August.[...]

Diplomatic ties between them date back to the 1980s when Ethiopia supported Somaliland rebel fighters who helped win its de facto independence in 1991, the same year Ethiopia became landlocked after Eritrea’s successful war of independence. Ethiopia continued to use Eritrea’s Red Sea ports until the two states severed ties and fought a 1998-2000 border war, which killed 70,000 people. Since then, Ethiopia has used Djibouti’s port as its main trade conduit, but the billions Djibouti is believed to charge Ethiopia annually in port fees has had it exploring alternatives in Sudan, Somaliland and Kenya since the mid-2000s.

Agreements between Ethiopia and Somaliland over the use of its Berbera port date as far back as 2005, but issues including logistics and potential harm to relations with Mogadishu have prevented Addis Ababa from implementing a wholesale shift from Djibouti. In 2017, Ethiopia acquired shares in Berbera port as part of a deal involving Emirati logistics management company DP World to expand the port and turn it into a lucrative trade gateway catering to the needs of 119 million Ethiopians. At the time, Somalia denounced the deal as illegal. Ethiopia did not follow through on commitments and eventually lost its stake by 2022.[...]

After Somali independence in 1960 and until the end of the Cold War, the status of Ethiopia’s Somali region, its second largest by area, has been hotly contested between the two countries. The region, also known as Ogaden, is home to ethnic Somalis, who make up about 7 percent of Ethiopia’s population. It has witnessed numerous conflicts. One was the Ogaden War from 1977 to 1978, which killed tens of thousands of people before Ethiopia, with the assistance of Soviet military advisers and Cuban troops, reasserted dominance over the land.

Under the governments of Ethiopia’s Mengistu Hailemariam and Somali President Siad Barre [supported during the war by the US], both countries supported rebel factions in each other’s countries, which would go on to weaken and eventually lead to the overthrow of both leaders by 1991.

Somalia has never regained the stability it knew during the Barre era. [...] A considerable segment of Ethiopian troops has been part of the African Union peacekeeping mission mandated to fight the rebels in Somalia. Their semi-permanent presence in the country since 2006 has fuelled further resentment.[...]

“It’s possible that the UAE, which has cordial relations with both Ethiopia and Somaliland, may have encouraged the parties to proceed with the deal,”[...]

Meanwhile, Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip has had a ripple effect, including most recently, Houthi rebel attacks on ships in the Red Sea, impacting the strategic Bad al-Mandeb Strait [just off Somaliland's coast]

4 Jan 24

[beardedmrbean]

Alcohol smuggler Guled Diriye is exhausted.

He has just returned from his trip transporting contraband from the Ethiopian border.

The 29-year-old slumps in his chair inside a colonial-style villa battered by years of fighting in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu - a city once known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean.

His sandals are covered in a potent orange dust – the residue from the desert.

Mr Diriye’s dark eyes droop. The bags underneath speak of sleepless nights, the hours of tension traversing the dangerous roads and negotiating checkpoints with armed men.

There is also the haunting memory of a fellow smuggler who was shot dead.

“In this country, everyone is struggling and looking for a way out. And I found my way by making regular trips by road from the Ethiopian border to Mogadishu,” he says, explaining that smuggling was a means to support his family in a tough economic climate.

The use and distribution of alcohol is illegal. Somalia’s laws must comply with Sharia (Islamic law), which forbids alcohol, but it has not stopped a growing demand, particularly among young people in many parts of the country.

Mr Diriye’s neighbour Abshir, knowing he had fallen on hard times as a minibus-taxi driver, introduced him to the precarious world of alcohol smuggling.

Rickshaws began to take over the city, pushing minibus drivers out of business.

Both were childhood friends who had sheltered together in the same camp in 2009 during the height of the insurgency in Mogadishu - he was someone he could trust.

“I began picking up boxes of alcohol at designated drop points in Mogadishu on [his] behalf and manoeuvring through the city and offloading them at designated locations. I didn’t realise it at first but this was my introduction into smuggling.”

His involvement snowballed and Mr Diriye soon found himself navigating from the porous frontier with Ethiopia through Somalia’s rural hinterlands.

He understands that he is breaking the law, but says the poverty that he finds himself in overrides that.

The smuggling journey begins in Somali border towns such as Abudwak, Balanbale, Feerfeer and Galdogob.

“Alcohol mostly originates in [Ethiopia’s capital] Addis Ababa and makes it to the city of Jigjiga, in the Ogaden region,” Mr Diriye says.

The Ogaden or, as it is officially known in Ethiopia, the Somali region, shares a 1,600km (990-mile) border with Somalia. People on both sides share ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious ties.

Once the alcohol is loaded, it is moved across the plains of the Somali region, and then smuggled across the border into Somalia.

The border town of Galdogob is a major hub for trade and travel and has been hit hard by the flow of alcohol being smuggled from Ethiopia.

Tribal elders have raised concerns over alcohol-related violence.

“Alcohol causes so many evils [such as shootings],” says Sheikh Abdalla Mohamed Ali, the chairman of the local tribal council in the town.

“[It] has been seized and destroyed on multiple occasions but it's like living next to a factory. It keeps putting out more and more, no matter what we do.”

“Our town will always be in the midst of danger.”

But for the smugglers the goal is to get the alcohol to the capital.

“I drive a truck that transports vegetables, potatoes and other food products. When the truck is loaded up it’s filled with whatever I'm transporting, but I make the most money from the alcohol on board,” Mr Diriye says.

Sometimes smugglers cross into Ethiopia to pick it up and at other times they receive it at the border. But whichever approach is taken, concealment is a crucial part of the profession as the risks from being caught are immense.

“The loader’s job is the most important. Even more important than driving. He’s tasked with concealing the alcohol in our truck, with whatever we have on board. Without him, I wouldn’t be able to move around so easily — at least not without getting caught.

“The average box of alcohol I move has 12 bottles. I usually transport anywhere from 50 to 70 boxes per trip. Usually half the load on my truck is filled with alcohol.”

Large swathes of south-central Somalia are run by armed groups, where the government has little to no control: militias, bandits and the al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabab roam with impunity.

“You can never travel on your own. It's too risky. Death is always on our minds,” Mr Diriye says. But that concern does not get in the way of business and there is a brutal pragmatism to thinking about the make-up of the team.

“If I get wounded in an attack on the road, there has to be a back-up who can continue the journey. Everyone knows how to drive and knows the roads well.”

Smugglers drive on dirt tracks and roads that have not been renovated in decades. Landmines and unexploded ordnances left behind from previous conflicts are also an issue.

“I travel through at least eight to 10 towns to reach Mogadishu. But we don’t count the towns, we count the checkpoints and who mans them,” Mr Diriye says.

They encounter various clan militias with different allegiances, either lingering in the distance or at roadblocks.

“In case we get jammed up by a clan militia, if one of us is from the same clan as that militia or even a similar sub-clan, it increases our chances of survival. This is why all three of us are from different clans.”

He painfully recalls: “I’ve encountered numerous attacks.

“One of the guys that works with me is relatively new. He replaced my last helper who was killed two years ago.”

Mr Diriye had been driving in suffocating heat for six hours, so decided to nap, passing the wheel to his helper.

“While I was sleeping in the back, I heard a large burst of gunfire that suddenly woke me up. We where surrounded by militiamen. My loader was screaming as he ducked in the passenger seat.” The substitute driver was killed.

Once the commotion ceased, the loader and Mr Diriye picked up their dead colleague from the front seat and put him in the back of the truck.

“I’ve never seen so much blood in my life. I had to wipe [it] away from the steering wheel and keep on driving. In all my years, nothing prepared me for what I saw that day.”

As the pair drove off and got a good distance away from the militiamen, they pulled over to the side of the road and laid his body there.

“We didn’t even have a sheet to cover his body, so I took off my long-sleeved buttoned-up shirt and made do with it.

“It was a difficult decision but I knew I couldn't keep driving around smuggling alcohol with a dead body in the truck. We had a few government checkpoints up ahead and I couldn’t jeopardise my load or my freedom.”

Two years later he says the guilt of leaving the body by the road still haunts him.

He left behind a family, and Mr Diriye is unsure they even know the truth surrounding the circumstances of his disappearance and death.

The danger that Mr Diriye faces is a recurring reality that many smugglers endure while illicitly ferrying alcohol from Ethiopia to Mogadishu, in order to quench the growing demand.

Dahir Barre, 41 has a slim build with noticeable scars on his face that appear to tell a story on their own. He has a dark sense of humour and seems hardened by the near-decade of smuggling that enables him to bypass the possible consequences of what he does.

“We face a lot of problems and dangers but still continue to drive despite the risk due to the poor living conditions in Somalia,” he says.

Mr Barre has been smuggling alcohol from Ethiopia since 2015 and says lack of opportunity made worse by years of poverty pushed him into the dangerous trade.

“I used to do security for a hotel in the city centre. I was armed with an AK-47 and was tasked with patting people down at the entrance.”

Long nights in a dangerous job with meagre pay did not feel worth it.

“One hundred dollars a month to stand in the way of potential car bombs that might plough through the front entrance sounds crazy now that I think of it.”

One of the day-shift guards then put him in touch with friends from the border region and “I’ve been travelling these roads ever since”.

“Back in 2015 I was only getting $150 per trip, compared to $350 per trip now and those days it was far riskier because al-Shabab had control over more territory, so you risked more encounters with them.

“Even the bandits and militias were more dangerous back then.

“If you had red or brown stained teeth, the militias would assume you chewed khat and smoked cigarettes, meaning you had money so they would abduct you and hold you for ransom.

“As drivers we’ve been through a lot and the danger still exists,” Mr Barre says.

If they are caught by al-Shabab fighters then it can be most dangerous since the armed group has a zero-tolerance policy on contraband, especially alcohol. The Islamist insurgents set the vehicle on fire and then detain the smugglers before fining them.

Other armed men can be more easily bribed with money or liquor.

It takes an average of seven to nine days to reach Mogadishu from the Ethiopian border. The smugglers then make their way to a pre-arranged drop-off point.

“When we arrive, a group of men will show up and unload the regular food products into a separate truck, then leave. Afterwards, once that’s done, another individual will arrive, sometimes accompanied by more than one vehicle and they’ll take the boxes of alcohol,” Mr Diriye says.

“But it doesn’t end there. Once it leaves my possession, it’ll pass through more hands, eventually ending up with local dealers in the city, who can be reached with a simple phone call.”

Mr Diriye often thinks about his entry into smuggling, and where his future may lie.

“My neighbour Abshir who initially got me into smuggling alcohol, stopped doing it himself three years ago.”

Abshir offered his nephew, an unemployed graduate at the time, a job in smuggling. But he was killed on his third trip in an ambush by bandits.

“Afterwards Abshir quit smuggling. He became religious and turned to God. I rarely see him any more.”

Despite the dangers, Mr Diriye says it will not deter him.

"Death is something that is predestined. I can't let fear come in the way of making a living. Sure, sometimes I want to throw the keys on the table and start afresh but it's not that easy. Temptation is everywhere and so is poverty."

All names have been changed in this story.

[ptseti]

FIDEL CASTRO: MAN OF THE MASSES IN AFRICA

In the 1970s and 80s, Fidel Castro sent 350,000 Cuban soldiers, civilians and doctors to support the African liberation struggle, especially in Angola 🇦🇴 , Namibia, Mozambique 🇲🇿 , Guinea Bissau , Cape Verde 🇨🇻 , and Sao Tome and Principal 🇸🇹 . The Cuban effort eventually hastened the demise of apartheid in South Africa. More than 3,000 Cubans died fighting for Africa.

After the Cuban and their Angolan, Namibian and ANC allies decisively defeated the then feared South African defence forces in Angola, it brought independence not only to Angola and Namibia, but also accelerated the death of apartheid itself in South Africa.

About 600 Cuban soldiers, including 70 doctors, went to Guinea Bissau to help the African guerrillas for 10 years before “independence” from the Portuguese came in 1974. Cuba fought in Ethiopia on the side of Colonel Mengistu Haile Miriam’s troops in the Ogaden campaign in 1978 against an invasion by Somalia. In 1965, Cuba sent the legendary Che Guevara and fighters to Kibamba, near Fizi, in DRCongo’s province of South Kivu, to help the supporters of Patrice Lumumba.

Then came Mozambique and Angola where the biggest Cuban action in Africa was staged against apartheid South African troops backed by America and its Western allies. Castro takes up the story in his memoirs: “ While Cuba was in Angola, and Angola was being invaded by South Africa, the USA made arrangements to transfer to South Africa–racist, fascist South Africa–several atomic bombs, similar to those it exploded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”

[sethshead]

There is no available record of when exactly Nur Omar Mohamed was in active service. He was almost certainly involved in the Ogaden invasion of Ethiopia and the 1982 Ethiopian invasion of Somalia.

It is more questionable his degree of direct culpability for the Isxaaqi genocide, which was carried out by rival clan militias armed and encouraged by the Mohamed Ziyad Barre government. Senior officer positions in dictatorships can be cushy rewards for regime supporters and family members of the autocrat. Many used their rank to avoid danger and potential harm. He need not have been called to the or even worn a uniform by then. Then again, the regime at all levels was guilty of its crimes against humanity, and even in an administrative capacity Col. Nur would thus have assisted in the slaughter.

What cannot be questioned is that the family were elites in Mohamed Ziyad Barre’s government. They were not just commoners caught haplessly in the violence that replaced a brutal dictatorship with brutal warlords and brutal anarchy; they were well placed members of the regime, who fled being called to account for the human rights abuses carried out in the name of their comfortable lifestyles. They were closer to Miami Batististas than to the desperate, homeless refugees of popular imagination. Rep. Ilhan admired her father and had fond memories of the childhood she spent in such privilege. It does make me how much she prefers those memories to the pluralistic, deliberative, representative and consensual body in which she now serves.

[riceoatswheatgrain]

In the Napoleonic wars, for every French soldier killed, roughly 0.4 civilians were killed.

In WW1, for every soldier killed by the central powers, roughly 0.7 civilians were killed.

In the Ogaden war, for every soldier killed, roughly 2 civilians were killed.

In WW2, for every soldier killed by the Axis, roughly 3 civilians were killed.

In the gulf war, for every Kuwait soldier killed, roughly 4 civilians were killed.

Since October, in the Israeli-Hamas conflict, for every Hamas soldier killed, roughly 20 civilians have been killed.

This is not the necessary cost of war. This is, at best, gross and sickening neglect, and at worst, intentional genocide.

I don’t think October 7th was justified, but the response to it is no more so. It hasn’t been for a few months at the least.

[saxafimedianetwork]

Sovereignty’s Illusion: Deciphering Mogadishu’s Political Theatre and Erroneous Stratagems

Prof. Mohammed Ahmed: A sobering look at the politics of #Somalia & #Ethiopia. Is @HassanSMohamud's recent stance on the #Ogaden Region a genuine push for #Somali unity or a strategic move? #MogadishuPolitics #Somaliland

Continue reading Sovereignty’s Illusion: Deciphering Mogadishu’s Political Theatre and Erroneous Stratagems

[captain-price-unofficially]

Somali women's militia armed with an eclectic array of weaponry during the Ogaden War with Ethiopia, 1977

[jihadibaddie123]

Why are africans, mexicans, eastern Europeans and the damn chinese hating on Indians? I'm not captain-save-a-punjabi but ppl are projecting poor policy planning and a looming economic crisis on too much Indians? Hate them all you want but a little honesty I beg. Personally I think we should worry about the Ethiopians but I'm not biased at all as a somali from the ogaden region 😁

[beerlula-00]

Nolol har iyo habeen kala dooraneeysid jiro iyo gaajo

A life in which every day and night, you have to choose between sickness and hunger

- Maxbus nr 77 by Bile M Hashi