Somalia: Information on the capture of the town of Belet Uen by the United Somali Congress (USC) at the end of 1990 or early 1991 and on persecution of Darod in Belet Uen by USC soldiers
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 November 1992 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SOM12334 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Somalia: Information on the capture of the town of Belet Uen by the United Somali Congress (USC) at the end of 1990 or early 1991 and on persecution of Darod in Belet Uen by USC soldiers, 1 November 1992, SOM12334, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acb654.html [accessed 8 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
According to a report by the Inter-NGO Committee for Somalia (INCS-UK), following the visit of representatives to Mogadishu, the Hiran, Bay, Middle Shabelle and Lower Shabelle regions from 23 February to 4 March 1991, the United Somali Congress (USC) forces attacked Siad Barre's military camp in Belet Uen (other spellings' Belet Weyne, Belet Huen, Baladweyn, Beledweyne) in June 1990 (1991, 64). An article published by Reuters on 3 September 1990 mentions widespread reports of fighting between security forces and rebels around central towns including Belet Uen. Another article published by the United Press International on 14 December 1990 mentions that the Somali air force has killed thousands of people in a bombing raid on the town of Belet Uen. This same article refers to the town of Belet Uen as "an active base for the USC."
The INCS-UK report indicates that after the USC forces took control of Mogadishu a three-day battle started in Belet Weyne, and led to the flight of Siad Barre's soldiers from the town to the countryside (Inter-NGO Committee for Somalia 1991, 65). The Barre regime was ousted on 25 January 1991 and it appears, at the time, that the USC controlled the country from Mogadishu to Belet Uen and possibly further north (Inter-NGO Committee for Somalia 1991, Appendix I).
While not directly referring to the treatment of the Darod clan in Belet Uen, the attached articles from Reuters of 16, 17 and 20 July 1991 report on fighting in central and southern regions of Somalia between the Hawiye clan-based USC and groups within the Darod clan who refused to recognize the USC's interim government in the capital.
For further information please refer to the attached documents and to the excerpts of the above-mentioned report.
Additional and/or corroborative information on this subject could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB.
References
Inter-NGO Committee for Somalia (INCS-UK) [London]. 23 February - 4 March 1991. "A Report of the Assessment Mission to Mogadishu, Hiran, Bay, Middle Shabelle and Lower Shabelle Regions From February 23rd to 4th March 1991."
The United Press International (UPI). 14 December 1990. BC Cycle. Bettina Gaus. "Thousands Flees As Somalia Teeters." (NEXIS)
Reuters. 3 September 1990. Rowena Whelan. "Somali President Sacks Government, Rebel Fighting Intensifies." (NEXIS)
Attachments
Amnesty International. August 1992. Somalia: A Human Rights Disaster. (AI Index: AFR 52/01/92). London: Amnesty International Publications.
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 2 February 1991. "Kenya TV Reports Famine Fear in Mogadishu; 600 Ethiopian Refugees `Massacres'." (NEXIS)
. 10 October 1990. "Somalia Police Forestall Mine Laying `Bandits' in North-West." (NEXIS)
Current History. May 1992. Vol. 91, No. 565. Omaar, Rakiya. "Somalia: At War With Itself."
Jeune Afrique. [Paris]. 3-9 September 1992. Marc Yared. "Somalie pourquoi?"
Reuters. 20 July 1991. BC Cycle. "Somali Factions Haggling Delays End of Peace." (NEXIS)
. 17 July 1991. BC Cycle. "Somali Talks Agree to Discuss Setting Up Broad-Based Government." (NEXIS)
. 16 July 1991. BC Cycle. "Somali Peace Talks Ponder Unity and Fate of Siad Barre."
