The Sool, Sanaag and Cayn Conflict: Crimes against Humanity in Northern Regions of Somalia

LASANOD ONLINE:- Since October 2007, Somalia’s northern regions particularly in Sool, Sanag and Cayn (SSC) regions has been the site of an extremely violent conflict between the clans of the North-Western regions,supported by the Ethiopian regime and the clan of SSC.

The cause of the conflict

The first Phase

Every corner in the world is now aware of the political situation of Somalia that it is still without a central government almost two decades after the fall of the last one headed by Siad Barre. Because of the lack of a central state authority, the country has been left in a state of an unending low level conflict and at the same time it became vulnerable to external interference specially the neighbouring countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya.
The intensity of the conflict is in various levels throughout the country; the fighting in the central regions, Benadir (Mogadishu) and the Juba areas are very high but the regions in the north-west and the north-east were (before 2007) sporadic and low. But things have changed since 2007.

The conflicts in all parts of Somalia are different in their specifics, but they do still share some important elements. Although in general these conflicts are driven by greed and political disintegration, the one conflict in progress today in the Northern part of the country particularly in the SSC regions has an additional characteristic, which goes beyond the known conflict in the south of the country, where few warlords or lately under the cover of religion fight on the control of either an airport, the Khat trade or a seaport. The conflict in the north is based on the following elements; first domination; second the annexation of a territory.

The first element Domination can be explained in this simple format; the north-western clan-family of Isaq organised under the panel of SNM would like to spearhead a secessionist state under its domination and force the other clans in the area to be part of it; second factor is the annexation of all the regions which were before 1960 under the British protectorate into their administration.

Although the SNM took the control of the north western regions in the year 1991, they did not forcibly intervene the other regions, because they had their own internal conflicts. The SNM is composed of various sub-clans that united themselves under the banner of Isaqism in order to oust the former military government headed by Siad Barre because they blamed that regime not according to its dictatorial governance but the believe that it was dominated by the Darod clan-family. After the military regime was toppled with the help of other armed organisations operating in the South of the country, the SNM militias turned their guns to each other. Some of the sub-clans immediately started to occupy some of the income generating premises such as the sea-ports and the airports. As an example the Habar Yonis occupied the Seaport of Berbera, which is not their traditional clan area. This has angered the Habar Awal, who see Berbera as their clan territory. This ignited a violent conflict between the two social groups, which at the end the Habar Yonis was defeated and forced back into Odwayne.

Another seriously fought spot was the airport in Hargeisa, where a sub-clan related to Habar Yonis occupied the airport. The first head of the SNM administration tolerated this occupation, because his sub-clan and the occupant of the airport belong to the alliance of Garxajis. But things did change after Mr. Mohamed Ibrahim Egal took the office as the head of the North-Western administration. He belonged to the Habar Awal clan. He began to force the group out of the airport. This fight spread through all the eastern regions starting from Hargeisa down to Buroa. This fight started in 1994 and lasted till the end of 1997. As a result the Garxajis accepted the defeat under the condition that they fully stand behind the secession as was declared in 1991 and hand the airport to the administration.

Second Phase

As the conflict between the sub-clans within the SNM administration seemed to be solved, they focused their attention to the other regions. Although the late head of the administration was not in a hurry to engage militarily the regions controlled by other clans, some of the war mongers within the SNM were pushing the administration to extend its control to non-isaq inhabited regions such as Sool, Sanaag, Cayn and certain areas in the Audal regions. But the main focus was on the regions of Sool, Sanaag and Cayn.

This idea was escalated after these regions became part of the newly established regional administration of Puntland. All the traditional leaders of the Sool, Sanaag and Cayn regions signed the declaration of the newly formed regional administration.

The decision of joining Puntland was a well calculated move based on the political reality of the present day Somalia, where people find the family ties as a strong factor of unification and an option of finding a guarantee in the issues of stability and security.

The SNM led administration translated this move as a barrier to their ambitious project of becoming a separate state, independent from the rest of the country, therefore the newly crowned head of the administration Mr. Riyale vowed to bring these regions under his control by all means necessary.

In order to show the elite of Hargeisa that he means business, Riyale made a provocative visit to the city of Las Anod in the Sool region.

This visit ignited the first violent confrontation between the people of SSC and the SNM administration. A large number of the civilians were either killed or injured during the fight in the centre of the town. Riyale and his entourage were forced to retreat. He felt disgraced as head of an administration and vowed to revenge.

The administration in Hargeisa under Riyale began to mobilise the war machinery and using the propaganda that the world community expressed their willingness to recognise this “statelet” as Somaliland, if they could proof that their administration is functioning in all the regions of former British Somaliland protectorate.

The militia from the North-West occupied in October 2007 the city of Las Anod with the help of some of the locals, who were disenchanted by the administration of Puntland. This occupation has a devastating effect on the population of the area. There were over 80,000 inhabitants living in the city before the occupation. Over half of the population fled the city into the villages south of the city. The whole social infrastructure like schools and hospitals were affected.

The occupation force brought curfews and road blocks. People were imprisoned and tortured. Many of them were transported into the notorious prison in Mandera near Berbera. Shops and business sites were robbed. In other words the whole city life was brought into standstill.

However the propaganda machine of the administration in Hargeisa would like to sell an image that this breakaway region is making a remarkable progress towards peace and political stabilisation compared to the rest of the country.

But the reality is that this administration is conducting a war in these regions ranging from mass murder, clan cleansing and rape for the sole purpose of greed and political disintegration of the Somali people.

This administration has found an ally for its agenda – the Ethiopian regime of Mele Zenawe.

The Ethiopian regime would like to see Somalia disintegrated into small “state lets” like the ones in Puntland in the North-East and “Somaliland” in the North-West. Both administrations receive military assistance from Addis even though there is a UN arms embargo that prohibits other nations to bring weapons into Somalia. This is the reason why both administrations co-operate with the secret services of Mele Zenawe and never condemned the atrocities of the Ethiopian military conducted during its occupation in the Southern part of Somalia especially Mogadishu. In addition to that both administrations hand over any Somali suspected of supporting the Somali movements fighting against colonialism inside Ethiopia. Although Garowe and Hargeisa were denying in the past that they have any secret connections with the regime in Ethiopia the most recent incident in the Cayn region particularly Buhoodle and Widh-Widh brought this inhuman collaboration into the open.

The third Phase

It is unfortunate that the world organisations such as the known human rights bodies such as Amnesty International say and mention nothing about the atrocities conducted by the North-West administration and its Ethiopian ally in the regions of Sool, Sanaag and Cayn in their reports. But simple statements like, “Tensions remained high in border areas claimed by the semi-autonomous Region of Somalia.” (Amnesty International Report 2010 - Somalia, 28 May 2010, available at: www.unhcr.org/refworld)

The reality is that the following crimes against humanity were committed in the recent events in Buhoodle, Widh-Widh, Bali-Hadhac and Las Anod: murder, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law, rape, torture, destruction of properties, displacement of a large number of people from their homes, robbing and stealing of over 17 privately owned trucks and the disappearance of children under the age of 15.

According to M. Cherif Bassiouni the term crimes against humanity can be simply defined as “anything atrocious committed on a large scale”. Furthermore he specifies his definition that: (1) they refer to specific acts of violence against persons irrespective of whether the person is a national or non-national and irrespective of whether these acts are committed in time of war or time of peace, and (2) these acts must be the product of persecution against an identifiable group of persons irrespective of the make-up of that group or the purpose of the persecution. Such a policy can also be manifested by the “widespread or systematic” conduct of the perpetrators, which results in the commission of the specific crimes contained in the definition.” (Crimes against humanity, by M.Cherif Bassiouni, available at: www.crimesofwar.org).

Following to the above definition what took place on the 21st of May in Buhoodle, Widh-Widh, Bali-Harac and Las Anod could not be defined other than crimes against humanity. The militia from North-West and the military of Mele Zenawe did conduct a well co-ordinated atrocity simultaneously in the cities of Buhoodle and Widh-Widh. Both parties used in their assault mortars and heavy weapons in the areas populated by civilians. In Buhoodle alone the Ethiopians murdered over 14 people and seriously injured over 50 civilians, thousands of the inhabitants were displaced and fled the city by this indiscriminate shelling of the city. In the same day of the 21st of May 2010 the Militia from the North-West entered the city of Widh-Widh and opened fire indiscriminately killing the following people in their first assault:

(1) Hariir Mohamed Hoosh (2) Farah Isse Mire (3) Son of Gagaale Ali Hodan (4) Farah Miir (5) Ali Naafto

In addition to the murdered innocent civilians over 20 people were seriously injured and through their shelling many inhabited homes were destroyed. A large number of the population fled into the country side, housing themselves under the trees and the caves nearby mountains, where they have to endure a heavy rainfall and cold wind during the night. Some of the residence particularly the young people began to mobilise and fight back. This resistance has caused some damage to the militia from the North-West and forced them to retreat and move partially out of the town centre. On their way back to the Barracks outside Las Anod this militia murdered the following civilians in the village of Bali-Hadhac, which lies few kilometres east of Widh-Widh

(1) Sahra Hareed haji Isse (a mother)

(2) Said Ali Haji Said

(3) Omar Yaquub Ali

(4) Farhan Muse

The following people were seriously injured in the same village:

(1) Mohamed Isse Adan

(2) Son of Baruud

(3) Saleeban Farah Mohamed

(4) Farah Warsame Ismail

It is time that the African Union as well as all the other international organisations realise that it is time to hold an account to the perpetrators whether they are dressed as Ethiopians, North-West militias or Puntland militias of the atrocities conducted in these regions since October 2007. The most devastating thing that occurred during the days of the assault is that a high ranking officer from Puntland offered an apology to the Ethiopians of what happened in Buhoodle, instead of sending condolences to the families of the innocent people slaughtered by an army from another country.( By Nasr Ibn Othmann , May 26, 2010 in Wardheernews).

This crisis has brought the people of SSC together and gave them the opportunity to rely on their own resources and bring the perpetrators to justice any time soon. Furthermore the international organisations as well as the TFG, Puntland and “Somaliland” administrations have to accept the demands of these regions and take serious to the declarations of their traditional leaders, if the objective of the international organisations and their counterparts in Somalia are to bring stability and peace to the so-called peaceful zones of the Northern part of the country.

Written by Ahmed F. Hadhi

ahmedhadhi@hotmail.com