Somalia: Reports or ill-treatment of former judges and/or military officers in Barre regime? Possible influence of Issaq wife?
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 August 1991 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SOM9178 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Somalia: Reports or ill-treatment of former judges and/or military officers in Barre regime? Possible influence of Issaq wife?, 1 August 1991, SOM9178, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab215f.html [accessed 23 October 2022] |
| 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. |
Many associates of Siad Barre were killed in the fighting that erupted between rebels and troops loyal to Barre at the beginning of January (The Washington Post 7 Jan. 1991), some surrendered (Associated Press 28 Jan. 1991) and others fled to Kenya (The New York Times 29 Jan. 1991; The Manchester Guardian 3 Feb. 1991). According to The Indian Ocean Newsletter, the Somali National Movement (SNM) "has [...] undertaken to try government military officials on charges of cruelty in the northern war, among whom are 57 officers captured in Berbera" (13 Apr. 1991). Regarding the Ogadeni and the Oromos who supported the government militias in the north, the people of the region want to punish them, but the SNM wants to evacuate them to Ethiopia to avoid a "blood bath" (The Indian Ocean Newsletter 2 Feb. 1991).
Since the beginning of 1991, the United Somali Congress (USC, Hawiye) and Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM, Darod-Ogaden) have been engaged in intermittent armed conflicts in central and southern Somalia (BBC Summary 5 Aug. 1991; Ibid. 26 July 1991; Ibid. 17 July 1991; Xinhua 12 Apr. 1991; Le Monde 12 Feb. 1991; Indian Ocean Newsletter 9 Feb. 1991). According to a Western diplomat, there were in April 1991 "unconfirmed reports of summary executions of Darod (by Hawiye)" (Christian Science Monitor 5 Apr. 1991) (see also Response to Information Request SOM8422 - 19 April 1991). On 14 July 1991, General Muhammad Farah Aydid, the chairman of the USC, stated that the USC was ready to launch war against the remnants of the Barre regime (BBC Summary 17 July 1991).
Concerning the influence of a wife's clan in situations of conflict, the clanic origins of a wife are less important than those of a mother, which have little influence (Prominent member of the Somali community in Toronto 15 Aug. 1991; See Response to Information Request SOM9199 - 16 August 1991). According to Said S. Samatar, Professor of History at Rutgers University, Newark, and an expert on Somalia, the wife's clan in Somalia might sometimes be a protection, but not always (Samatar 16 Aug. 1991).
Bibliography
Prominent member of the Somali community, Toronto. 15 August 1991. Telephone Interview.
Samatar, S. Said, Professor of History at Rutgers University, Newark, and an expert on Somalia. 16 August 1991. Telephone Interview.
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 5 August 1991. "Somalia USC Meeting Appoints Committee to Draw Up the USC's Constitution."
. 26 July 1991. "Somalia USC and SDM Report Fighting in Central and Southwest."
. 17 July 1991. "Somalia Southerners Demonstrate in Mogadishu Against SPM."
The Xinhua General Overseas News Service. 12 April 1991. "Fighting Between Rival Somali Warring Factions Continues."
Le Monde. 12 February 1991. Hélène Jean. "Des affrontements entre factions rebelles auraient fait plus de cent morts près de Mogadiscio."
The Indian Ocean Newsletter. 9 February 1991. "Somalia: National Conciliation Meeting Awaited."
. 22 June 1991. "Somalia: SNM Rejects Djibouti Conference."
The Christian Science Monitor. 5 April 1991. "Rebel Clashes Forestall Peace in Newly Liberated Somalia."
Attachments
Somalia: Cultural Profile, The Nomadic Clans of Somalia: History, Culture, Social Structure. IRBDC, June 1991.
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 5 August 1991. "Somalia USC Meeting Appoints Committee to Draw Up the USC's Constitution."
. 26 July 1991. "Somalia USC and SDM Report Fighting in Central and Southwest."
. 17 July 1991. "Somalia Southerners Demonstrate in Mogadishu Against SPM."
The Xinhua General Overseas News Service. 12 April 1991. "Fighting Between Rival Somali Warring Factions Continues."
Le Monde. 12 February 1991. Hélène Jean. "Des affrontements entre factions rebelles auraient fait plus de cent morts près de Mogadiscio."
The Indian Ocean Newsletter. 9 February 1991. "Somalia: National Conciliation Meeting Awaited."
. 22 June 1991. "Somalia: SNM Rejects Djibouti Conference."
The Christian Science Monitor. 5 April 1991. "Rebel Clashes Forestall Peace in Newly Liberated Somalia."
