Document #1179616
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
According to information received from the
London office of the Secretariat for Foreign Relations of the
Somali National Movement, the current government includes six
non-Isaaq members: two Gadabursi, two Dulbahante, one Issa, and one
Warsangali. In addition, a Somaliland legislative assembly has been
formed in which 30 percent of the members are non-Isaaqs, according
to the SNM (Somali National Movement, 10 December 1991).
At least three reports in June 1991
contradict the SNM statistics on government ministers in that they
do not account for an Issa minister (Africa Confidential, 14
June 1991; Le Monde, 8 June 1991;
Délégué aux Réfugiés, July 1991,
23). Most reports on the legislative assembly, also referred to as
the "constituent committee," actually indicate that the proportion
of non-Isaaqs is about 55 percent (Jeune Afrique, 18 June
1991; Indian Ocean Newsletter, 25 May 1991).
The London office of the SNM states, "The
question of a policy by Isaaq towards other clans never arose and
does not exist. All are in the same [Legislative] Assembly and have
the same right (Somali National Movement, 10 December 1991).
Nevertheless, in the early part of 1991, there were reports of
fighting between the SNM and armed Gadabursi and Issa in
northwestern Somalia, near the borders with Djibouti and Ethiopia
(New African, May 1991; Africa Events, March 1991;
The Indian Ocean Newsletter, 23 February 1991). On 5
February, according to the radio network of the SNM, the movement
"launched a full-scale war on Boorama" against remnants of the
Somali Armed Forces and followed up the next day with "mopping-up"
operations throughout the region of Awdal. Boorama was "heavily
shelled" in the attack and by the end of the month, 30,000
refugees, the majority of them Gadabursi, had fled to Ethiopia. The
Gadabursi have been "traditionally at odds with the Isaak [as
written]" clan. (Africa Research Bulletin, 1-28 Feb. 1991;
FBIS-AFR-91-025, 6 Feb. 1991a; FBIS-AFR-91-025, 6 Feb. 1991b)
According to a March report of The
Indian Ocean Newsletter, representatives of the
Gadabursi-dominated Somali Democratic Association stated that four
Gadabursi had been executed in Berbera. The report provides no
further details as to the circumstances of their execution (The
Indian Ocean Newsletter, 9 March 1991).
Africa Confidential. 14 June 1991.
"Somalia: One State or Two?"
Africa Events. March 1991.
Wilson, Hamish. "Unsettled Dust."
Africa Research Bulletin. 1-28
February 1991. "Refugee Crisis Reaches pic Proportions." Vol. 28,
No. 2. Délégué aux Réfugiés.
July 1991. "ODR Bulletin d'Information: Somalie."
FBIS-AFR-91-025. 6 February 1991a. "SNM
Fighters Destroy `Enemy' Force in Boorama," Radio of the Somali
National Movement [Clandestine], 5 February 1991.
FBIS-AFR-91-025. 6 February 1991b. "SNM
Conducts `Mopping-up' Operations in Awdal," Radio of the Somali
National Movement [Clandestine], 5 February 1991.
The Indian Ocean Newsletter. 25
May 1991. "Somalia: Northern Somalia Proclaims its
Independence."
The Indian Ocean Newsletter. 9
March 1991. "Horn of Africa: Federal Option."
The Indian Ocean Newsletter. 23
February 1991. "Horn of Africa: Repercussions of Somali
Rebellion."
Jeune Afrique. 18 June 1991. "La
sécession après la guerre."
Le Monde [Paris]. 8 June 1991.
"Somalie: Les sécessionnistes du Nord ont formé leur
gouvernement."
New African. May 1991. "Why SNM
Spurns USC Overtures."