Problems between the government and the Ogadeen clan in Somalia [SOM2222]

The Ogadeen clan is considered to be one of the three clans which have been prominent in the Siad Barre government since the military coup of 1969. This, however, does not necessarily mean that all individuals or members of the Ogadeen clan have taken part in Barre's government or have not opposed it. Various reports available to the IRBDC indicate that over the last several years the Ogadeni support for President Siad Barre has declined as he has loosened his alliance with them in the complicated clan structure that makes up Somali politics. The current uncertain situation of the Ogadeen clan should, however, be analyzed within the larger context of Somalia's tribalism and clan-based politics.

According to modern ethnographers, all Somalis are divided into six major groupings, conveniently called clan-families: Darood, Digil, Dir, Hawiye, Isaaq, and Rahanwayn. These are vast confederations of kinship groups whose members claim descent from a common ancestor some 25 to 30 generations back. Although every Somali belongs to one of these clan-families, Somalis identify themselves more immediately with the clans into which each clan-family is sub-divided. For example, the Darood, the largest clan-family, contains clans such as the Majerteen, Ogadeen, Mareehan, Dulbahante, etc. [ A comprehensive study on Somali lineage system is found in: I. M. Lewis, A Pastoral Society (London: Oxford University Press, 1961).] A characteristic feature of the Somali lineage segmentation is that it is both centripetal and centrifugal, at times drawing together the Somalis into a strong kinship affinity and cultural identity while setting them against one another in an antagonistic class of tribal interests. [ David D. Laitin and Said S. Samatar, Somalia: Nation in Search of State (Boulder: Westview Press, 1987), pp. 30-31.] Thus, Somalia's traditional lineage segmentation has significant social and political functions, and a Somali gives political allegiance first to his immediate family, then to his immediate lineage followed by the clan of his lineage, then to clan-family, and ultimately to the nation. [ Ibid.]

Since it assumed state power in 1969, the present Somali government has attacked Somali tribalism as a major obstacle to national unity and development. Despite his public pronouncements on the need to eliminate clan affiliations, however, President Siad Barre has been accused of surrounding himself with kinsmen of three particular clans of the Darood clan-family: his own Mareehan clan, his mother's Ogadeen 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 even exacerbating tribalism in Somali politics. [ Ibid, pp. 92-94. Also see: I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of Somalia: Nation and State in the Horn of Africa (Boulder: Westview Press, 1988), pp. 221-223.]

President 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 region of Ethiopia. The ethnic Somalis living in the Ogaden have deep-rooted social, cultural and economic ties with Somalia, but their land is "legally" part of Ethiopia. [ "Ogaden: The Land But Not the People", Horn of Africa, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1981, pp. 42-45.] In terms of their genealogy, the majority of them belong to the Ogadeen clan, one of the three leading clans in the power structure of the Somali Democratic Republic. The Ogadeen clan in Somalia saw the liberation of the Ogaden as the highest goal for any Somali government, and for this reason they played a significant role in President Siad Barre's tribal coalition. [ Laitin and Samatar, p. 140.]

Ever since Somalia was defeated by Ethiopia in the Ogaden war, the ruling MOD alliance that has helped to keep the Mareehan in power for so long has reportedly been disintegrating into the traditional Somali clan rivalries. The alliance has been divided over government policies, including attempt of rapprochement with Ethiopia. There were two alleged Ogadeni coup plots in 1984 and 1985, and President Siad Barre has reportedly continued a policy, started in mid-1984, of reducing the number and influence of senior Ogadeni officers in his army who might have opposed his plans to do a deal with Ethiopia over the Ogaden region. To this end, in February 1986 alone, over 50 Ogadeni officers up to the rank of major were dismissed from the Somali army. [ "Somalia: Towards an Ogaden Pact", Africa Confidential, 26 February 1986, pp. 6-7.]

Following talks with the Ethiopian President in January 1986, President Siad Barre has been steadily moving away from the long-held Somali government policy of unconditional support for the Somali inhabitants of the Ogaden region. This in turn has led to a growing rift between the Ogadeen clan and President Siad Barre. [ "Somalia: The Ogadeni's Misfortune", Africa Confidential, 17 October 1984, pp. 5-7.] When the President finally signed a peace agreement with Ethiopia in April 1988, renouncing the claim to their homeland, the Ogadenis began to desert him. [ "Somali Democratic Republic: Disintegrating Tribal Alliance", Africa Research Bulletin, 15 September 1989, pp. 9390-9391.] Furthermore, the May 1988 heavy fighting between the Somali National Movement (SNM) and government troops had left scars on Ogadeni officers who charge that their units were continuously given frontline duties during the fighting.

President Siad Barre is making all the efforts to perpetuate the position and power of his Mareehan clan, and the only people he trusts are the members of his family who hold all key government positions. Until a few years ago, Ogadeni officers dominated Somalia's armed forces, but the Mareehan have reportedly disarmed non-Mareehan units and confrontations at officer and lower echelon level have occurred, according to sources available to the IRBDC. Reports indicate that the Mareehan alliance with the Ogadeen has ended, with Ogadeni soldiers rebelling and joining other opposition clans and forces.