When Major General Siad Barre assumed power, one of the goals he proclaimed for the nation was the elimination of Somali tribalism, which he believed constituted a major obstacle to national unity and development. [ ENDNOTES: I.M. Lewis, A Modern History of Somalia: Nation and State in the Horn of Africa, (Boulder: Westview Press, 1988), pp.221-223., David D. Laitin and Said S. Samatar, Somalia: Nation in Search of a State, (Boulder: Westview Press, 1987), pp.92-94.] Despite his vitriolic attacks on clan affiliation and on nepotism, however, the President has been accused of surrounding himself with kinsmen of three particular clans of the Darood clan-family: his own Marehan clan, his mother's Ogaden clan, and the Dulbahante clan of his son-in-law. Many critics maintain that while this clan-based political alliance, code-named MOD, has provided the President with a reliable power base that offers external as well as internal security, it has had the effect of perpetuating and exacerbating clannism in Somalia. [ibid.]

Despite the common commitment of the Ethiopian and Somali regimes to military socialism, Siad Barre had reportedly found the "liberation" of the Ogaden crucial to the legitimacy of his rule. The majority of Ogaden Somalis belong to the Ogadeen clan, one of the three leading clans in the power structure of the Siad Barre government. By playing a significant role in Siad Barre's tribal coalition, the Ogadeen clan saw the liberation of the Ogaden region as the highest goal for the Somali government. [David D. Laitin and Said S. Samatar, Somalia: Nation in Search of a State (Boulder: Westview Press, 1987), p. 140. ]

Siad Barre's war against Ethiopia in 1977-78 had kept the country briefly united around the long-held dream of "Greater Somalia", which would have incorporated the ethnic Somalis in the Ogaden. Nevertheless, Somalia's humiliating defeat in the war and the resulting economic collapse were soon added to the pre-war silent disenchantment with Siad Barre's autocratic regime. Somalis shifted their priorities to domestic politics, and open dissent and organized opposition to the government emerged. [Samatar, pp. 137-139.]

In 1986, a flurry of accelerated promotions and a cabinet reshuffle consolidated the Marehan position in the army and strengthened their control of the Ministry of Defence. [I.M. Lewis, A Modern History of Somalia, Nation and State in the Horn of Africa, (Boulder: Westview Press, 1987), p.252.] It was estimated in 1987, that half the senior officer corps belonged to the President's clan (Marehan) or the related Marehan, Ogaden and Dulbahante clans.

On 4 June 1984, the BBC Summary of World Broadcasts reported on the Cabinet reshuffle within the Somali Government. Adan Abdullahi Nur was named Deputy Minister of Defence on 31 May 1984. [ Keesing's Record of World Events, vol. XXXIII, (London: Longman Publishing Group), April 1987, p.35042.] It was not until the Cabinet reshuffle of 22 December 1987 that Maj.-Gen. Adan Abdullahi Nur, was appointed to the post of Minister of Defence. [Keesing's Record of World Events, vol.XXXIV (London: Longman Publishing Group), July 1988, p. 36004.; BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 24 December 1987.] Several sources use the Defence Minister's nick name, Adan Gabiyow, meaning poet. [BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 8 February 1988.] Africa Confidential, 20 January 1989, reports that there was a noted rise in the number of the military elite from the Ogadeni clan, under the leadership of Somali Defence Minister Major-General Adan Abdullah Nuur Gabiyu. [Africa Confidential, (London: Miramoor Publications, 20 July 1989).] Within the military there are separate units staffed by officers predominantly from specific clan groups. According to Africa Confidential, 23 September 1988, there were allegations that units made up of Ogadeni officers were continuously given front line attack duties, while Marehan officers were the first to leave the Hargeisa area when the fighting started. [ibid. 23 September 1988.]

The Tuutaley, "the camouflaged ones", a special military unit run by the president's son, Maslah Mohamed Said Barre, is made up of Marehan officers and actually holds the day-to-day power in Mogadishu. ["Somali: Generals Fall Out", Africa Confidential, 23 September 1988.] The same article further states that the military police is made up mainly of Marehan members, with Brig.-Gen. Uthman Ahmed Uthman, a Marehan, as its new deputy. Uthman Ahmed Uthman is a close relative of the president and a former commander of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). [ibid.]

In its effort to maintain power, the ruling family has been trying to get other clans involved in the fighting through the creation of clan militias. The fluidity of these clan relationships during the present conflict, makes it difficult to pinpoint any movement as anything but temporary. "Somalia: Showdown in the North", an article in the 29 July 1988 issue of Africa Confidential, explains in detail the complex relationship that the different clans have towards each other.

In the complicated clannism that makes up Somali politics, President Siad Barre has recently ended his long-held alliance with the Ogaden clan. [ "Disintegrating Tribal Alliance", Africa Research Bulletin, (Nr. Crediton: Africa Research Ltd., 15 September 1989), pp. 9390-9391.] Mogadishu radio reported on 1 February 1989, that a government reshuffle had resulted in Adan Abdullahi Nur being moved from the Ministry of Defence to become the Minister of Information and Tourism. [ BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 1 February 1989.]

The President of Somalia announced further changes to his government (on 21 April 1989) with the appointment of Adan Abdullahi Nur (formerly the Minister of Information and Tourism) as the Minister in the President's Office responsible for Social Affairs. [BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 24 April 1989.] However, on 24 July 1989 a statement issued by the President's Office reported that Adan Abdullahi Nur had "been relieved" of his post as Minister in the Office of the President. The reason disclosed in the official statement was that both Adan Abdullahi Nur and Muhammad Abdullah Bacadleh, also a Minister in the President's Office, had "been accused of acts which threatened the sovereignty, unity, security and cohesion of...the Somali people". In addition they had been relieved of their duties as members of the People's Assembly and Adan Abdullahi Nur had been sacked from the Party Central Committee and had his rank as a major-general in the armed forces taken away. [BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 26 July 1989.]

The Africa Confidential, reports that Adan Abdullahi Nur, an Ogadeni, was arrested in July 1989. As a result, Ogadeni soldiers in Kismayo, who had mutinied in March 1989 in protest against the demotion of the Minister of Defence, formed the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM) under the leadership of Col. Bashir Ali Bililqo, Adan Gabiyow's son-in-law. The government has rejected Ogadeni demands, including the release of Adan Abdullahi Nur. [ "Somalia: The End In Sight For Siad", Africa Confidential, (London: Miramoor Publications Ltd., 8 September 1989), pp.4-5.]

Hundreds of people are reported to have died in southern Somalia in the first two weeks of October 1989, as government troops launched assaults on territory controlled by the SPM. [Africa Research Bulletin, (Nr. Crediton: Africa Research Ltd., 15 November 1989), pp.9457-9456. ] It is reported that the SNM and the SPM have issued a joint communique announcing their adoption of "a unified stance on internal and external political policy" and their decision to cooperate militarily. [Africa Research Bulletin, vol.26 No.11, (Nr. Crediton: Africa Research Ltd., 15 December 1989), pp.9496-9497.] The call for government troops to join them has reportedly resulted in the defection of several officers as well as troops to the rebel movements. [ibid.] The SPM also assert that local nomads have been more willing to join their movement after the army reportedly killed 35 civilians on 20 September 1989. [ibid.]

Attached please find excerpts from the following documents:
"Kenyan Policemen Killed", Africa Research Bulletin, London: Africa Research, 15 October 1989, p.9425.
"Somali Democratic Republic", Africa Research Bulletin, London: Africa Research, 15 September 1989, pp. 9389-9391.
"Somali Democratic Republic: Fighting Flares", Africa Research Bulletin, London: Africa Research, 15 November 1989, pp.9457.
"Somalia: An Update on Human Rights Developments Since Mid-July", News from Africa Watch, Washington: Human Rights Watch, 22 September 1989, pp.9-11.