Information on the Somali National Front (SNF), usually described as a Marehan/Darod clan faction, (Gilkes, Sept. 1994, 204; Africa Watch, 7 Mar. 1993, 4) is limited among the sources consulted by the DIRB.

In June 1994 The Indian Ocean Newsletter reported that the SNF leader, General Mohamed Said Hersi (Morgan), endorsed a peace treaty signed by 19 clan leaders of Jubaland on 18 June 1994 (25 June 1994, 4). However, Keesing's and Agence France Presse (AFP) reported that Morgan endorsed the peace treaty as the leader of the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM) (June 1994, 40043; 19 June 1994).

Colonel Omar Jess of the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM-Ogaden), who has fought against Morgan for control of part of southern Somalia, including the port city of Kismayo, did not endorse the accord (ION 25 June 1994, 4). Keesing's only states that a SPM faction "denounced the reconciliation" with Morgan (June 1994, 40043).

P. S. Gilkes states in The Price of Peace: Somalia and the United Nations 1991-1994 that Morgan fought under the banner of the SPM in 1991-92 (Sept. 1994, 85). Gilkes also states that Morgan organized and controlled the conference which led to the 18 June 1994 peace agreement, but does not describe Morgan as a leader of either the SPM, or the SNF (ibid., 89). Gilkes does, however, state that Morgan was increasingly viewed as a Darod commander when he fought under the SNF banner in the Gedo region in 1993 (ibid., 87). According to Gilkes, the main aspirants for control of Kismayo and the Juba valley, are the Darod clans, especially the Majerteen/Harti and Ogaden (ibid., 85). However, the Marehan clan (deposed dictator Siad Barre's clan) also occupies territory in the region as a result of deliberate government policy to expand its presence in the area (ibid., 84). Gilkes states that Morgan, who is a Majerteen, has apparently waged his battles in the region with the support of the Marehan (ibid., 87).

Human Rights Watch/Africa in the report Somalia Faces the Future: Human Rights in a Fragmented Society states that Morgan operated under the SPM name during 1994 and was able to "call upon thousands of armed men of the Marehan and Majerteen subclans (part of the Darod clan) so long as their elders chose to respond to his call to mobilization" (Apr. 1995, 43.)

The same Human Rights Watch document also states that "Omer Haji, the political and militia leader of the SNF, was considered `the undisputed leader,' with the support of the ugas and elders of the Marehan (ibid., 34). Haji would appear to be the same person Gilkes includes in his listing of Somali factions as of mid-1994. In that list Gilkes states that the chairman of the SNF (Marehan-Darod) is a General Omar Haji Mohamed Hersi (ibid., 204). An October 1994 edition of The Indian Ocean Newsletter also makes a brief reference to a Omar Haji Mohamed `Massala' as the leader of the SNF (Marehan), but adds no other information (29 Oct. 1994, 8).

By October 1994, Africa Confidential reported that the June 1994 peace agreement was "virtually dormant" except for the clause permitting free access to the port in Kismayo (7 Oct. 1994, 2).

In January 1995, Africa Confidential reported that "tension has risen between Harti and Marehan militias" in Kismayo with the withdrawal of United Nations forces (6 Jan. 1995, 6).

Please consult The Price of Peace: Somalia and the United Nations 1991-1994 which briefly describes SNF strategy for the Gedo region after 1993 (Sept. 1994, 137-140).

For additional information on Morgan's activities since January 1994 and reports of SNF fighting, please consult the attachments. For general information on the issues confronting Morgan in the Kismayo area, please consult The Price of Peace: Somalia and the United Nations 1991-1994 and Somalia Faces the Future: Human Rights in a Fragmented Society; for background information on the SNF before 1994, please consult Response to Information Request SOM16098.E of 22 December 1993, all of which are available at Regional Documentation Centres.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Agence France Presse (AFP) [in English]. 19 June 1994. "Factions Sign Agreement To Strengthen Cease-Fire." (FBIS-AFR-94-118 20 June 1994, p. 10)

Africa Confidential [London]. 6 January 1995. Vol. 36, No. 1. "Somalia: Aydeed's Dilemma."

Gilkes, P. S. September 1994. The Price of Peace: Somalia and the United Nations 1991-1994. Bedfordshire: Save the Children Fund UK.

Human Rights Watch Africa [New York]. April 1995. Somalia Faces the Future: Human Rights in a Fragmented Society. New York: Human Rights Watch.

The Indian Ocean Newsletter [Paris]. 29 October 1994. No. 644. "Somalia: Aideed's `G12`."

_____. 25 June 1994. No. 629. "Somalia: Northern Congress, Southern Accord."

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. June 1994. Vol. 40, No. 7. "Mogadishu Fighting."

News From Africa Watch [New York]. 7 March 1993. Vol. 5, No. 2. "Somalia: Beyond the Warlords: The Need for a Verdict on Human Rights Abuses."

Agence France Presse (AFP) [in English]. Agence France Presse (AFP) [in English]. 19 June 1994. "Factions Sign Agreement To Strengthen Cease-Fire." (FBIS-AFR-94-118 20 June 1994, p. 10)

_____. 24 January 1994. "General Morgan Reportedly Returns to Kismaayo." (FBIS-AFR-94-016 25 January 1994, p. 4)

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series [Oxford]. March 1995. "Somalia," p. 11798.

The Horn of Africa Bulletin [Uppsala]. February 1995. Vol. 7, No. 2. "Morgan Warns of Fresh Somalia Strife," p. 19.

_____. February 1994. Vol. 6, No. 2. "Fighting Around Kismayu and Merca," pp. 16-17.

The Indian Ocean Newsletter [Paris]. 25 June 1994. No. 629. "Somalia: Northern Congress, Southern Accord."

_____. 23 April 1994. No. 620. "Somalia: Merca Recaptured by SNA," p. 3.

_____. 12 March 1994. No. 614. "Somalia: Conflict at Merca," p. 2.

_____. 26 February 1994. No. 612. "Somalia: Harti Alliance Sponsored by UN," p. 5.

_____. 19 February 1994. No. 611. "Somalia: Situation Normal: Going Downhill," p. 4.

_____. 8 January 1994. No. 605. "Somalia: `Discreet Talks in Nairobi," p. 4.

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. June 1994. Vol. 40, No. 7. "Mogadishu Fighting."