# The Somali armed forces, 1960–1991

> The national army 1960–1991: founding, Soviet then US support, the 1969 coup, the Ogaden war, growth to over 100,000, units, conscription, and the break-up in 1991.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/history/somali-armed-forces-1960-1991/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## In short

For thirty years the national army was one of the central institutions of the [Somali Republic](/en/states/somali-republic-1960-1969/). It was built in 1960, took power in 1969, fought Ethiopia in 1977–78, and broke apart in 1991. The army rebuilt since 2008 is described in [Somali National Army](/en/institutions/somali-national-army/). This page covers the first army.

## Founding, 1960

A law of 6 April 1960 created the army, and 12 April, still marked as Armed Forces Day, is its founding date. It was formed from the police mobile group, the Darawishta, and the former [British Somaliland](/en/history/british-somaliland-1884-1960/) Scouts, about 5,000 men, under Colonel [Daud Abdulle Hirsi](/en/people/daud-abdulle-hirsi/) ([Wikipedia, Somali Armed Forces](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Armed_Forces)). The police kept a separate service; see [Somali Police Force](/en/institutions/somali-police-force/).

## Soviet support

In 1962 the Soviet Union agreed a loan of US$32 million to build up the army, later raised to US$55 million (Wikipedia, citing the Library of Congress country study). Soviet advisers arrived in 1969. From the 1960s to 1977 the army built what Wikipedia, citing the IISS, describes as the largest armoured and mechanised force in sub-Saharan Africa.

| Year | Strength | Source cited |
|---|---|---|
| 1970–71 | about 12,000 | IISS |
| 1976 | about 22,000; about 250 tanks | IISS |
| 1977 | about 35,000 | Wikipedia |
| 1980 | about 96,000 | Wikipedia |
| 1984–85 | about 123,000 | Wikipedia |
| 1987 | about 40,000 | US Defense Intelligence Agency |

([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Armed_Forces))

## The army takes power, 1969

On 15 October 1969 President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was killed by a bodyguard. On 21 October 1969, as parliament prepared to choose his successor, army units seized key points in Mogadishu and detained ministers and leading politicians; the police co-operated. The army commander, Major General Mohamed Siad Barre, led the officers' [Supreme Revolutionary Council](/en/history/somali-democratic-republic-1969-1991/), which banned parties, closed parliament and suspended the constitution ([Library of Congress, *Somalia: A Country Study*](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/20.htm)). See [Abdirashid Ali Shermarke](/en/people/abdirashid-ali-shermarke/), [Siad Barre](/en/people/siad-barre/) and [Siad Barre era, 1969–1991](/en/history/siad-barre-era-1969-1991/).

## The Ogaden war, 1977–1978

In July 1977 the army entered Ethiopia's Somali region. Its Division 60 took the Godey front on 24 July 1977. The Soviet Union then changed sides and backed Ethiopia, which also received about 15,000 Cuban troops; by 1978 Somali forces had been pushed out of most of the Ogaden ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Armed_Forces)). The full story is told in [The Ogaden war, 1977](/en/history/ogaden-war-1977/). After the war the government turned to the United States for military support (same source).

## Coup attempt of 1978 and after

In April 1978 a group of officers tried to seize power. The Library of Congress records about 500 soldiers killed and seventeen officers executed; several who escaped founded the [SSDF](/en/institutions/somali-salvation-democratic-front/) ([Library of Congress](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/73.htm)).

In the 1980s the army grew larger on paper. In 1984 the government introduced conscription for men aged 18 to 40, for two years; many avoided it. By 1989–90 the army was organised in six sectors, twelve divisions and 45 brigades ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Armed_Forces)). The Library of Congress records purges of officers suspected of disloyalty, and the use of an elite unit, the Red Berets (*Duub Cas*), recruited from the president's own clan, in a campaign of intimidation from November 1986 ([Library of Congress](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/28.htm)).

## Break-up, 1988–1991

From 1988 the army fought the [Somali National Movement](/en/institutions/somali-national-movement/) in the north, and later the [Somali Patriotic Movement](/en/institutions/somali-patriotic-movement/) and the [United Somali Congress](/en/institutions/united-somali-congress/) in the south and centre. In 1990 many Ogaden officers left to join the SPM ([Library of Congress](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/73.htm)). Wikipedia cites estimates that the army fell from as many as 65,000 in early 1990 to about 10,000 later that year. When Siad Barre left Mogadishu on 27 January 1991 the army dissolved into clan-based forces. Units loyal to him formed the core of the [Somali National Front](/en/institutions/somali-national-front/) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Armed_Forces); [Wikipedia, Somali National Front](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_National_Front)).

## Sources differ

- **Size in the 1980s.** Estimates range from 40,000 to over 120,000 depending on the source and whether reserves and militia are counted.
- **First strength.** Accounts give between about 2,000 and 5,000 for 1960.

## Read the primary sources yourself

- Library of Congress, *Somalia: A Country Study* (1993): [Coup d'état](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/20.htm), [Repressive measures](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/28.htm).
- Colin D. Robinson, "Glimpse into an army at its peak", *Defense & Security Analysis* (2019): [article](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14751798.2019.1675944).

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