Armed groups and militias
Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a (ASWJ), 1991–2021
Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a (ASWJ) began in 1991 as a body of Sufi scholars and followers. In late 2008, after al-Shabaab destroyed Sufi tombs and killed clerics, it took up arms. With Ethiopian training and support it took Guri'el, Dhusamareb and other Galgaduud towns from al-Shabaab in 2009, signed a power-sharing deal with the transitional government in March 2010, merged into Galmudug State in 2017–2018, and fought the Galmudug administration at Guri'el in 2021.
In short
Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a ("people of the Sunna and the community") is the name used by Somali followers of the Sufi orders, the Qadiriyya, Ahmadiyya and Salihiyya, whose role in Somali religious life is described by the Library of Congress. The armed group of that name arose in 2008 in response to attacks on Sufi shrines and scholars by al-Shabaab. This page records its armed history from the sources.
Origins, 1991
Stanford's Mapping Militant Organizations project dates the group to 1 January 1991, formed to protect Sufi Muslims (Mapping Militant Organizations, Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a). Wikipedia records that it arose in opposition to Salafi groups such as al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, and that during the 1990s it worked with the Somali National Alliance of General Aidid (Wikipedia, Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a).
Taking up arms, 2008–2009
In 2008 al-Shabaab destroyed Sufi tombs and attacked clerics. ASWJ fighters, drawn from clan militias, first attacked in December 2008, in an unsuccessful attempt to take Guri'el in which 15 were killed (Mapping Militants; Wikipedia). In March 2009, after more clerics were killed, it declared jihad against al-Shabaab (Wikipedia).
Mapping Militants records that in February 2009 it took Guri'el, Cabudwaaq, Dhusamareb, Masagaway and Cadaado. In 2008–2009 it held much of Galgaduud and southern Mudug and parts of Gedo, Hiiraan, Middle Shabelle and Bakool. A 2008 UN report estimated it at about 5,000 fighters (Mapping Militants; Wikipedia).
Ethiopian support
Mapping Militants records that Ethiopia trained and armed ASWJ from December 2008, training about 1,000 fighters in four-month rotations, and that Ethiopian troops joined an ASWJ attack on al-Shabaab positions on 11 March 2011 (Mapping Militants).
Main battles
- 16 March 2009, Dhusamareb area. Fighting with al-Shabaab; Mapping Militants records 146 killed, 231 wounded and many thousands displaced.
- 5 June 2009, Wabxo. 123 killed.
- 24 April 2011, Dhusamareb. ASWJ retook the town.
- 28 April and 3 May 2011, Gedo. Fighting at Luuq and the capture of Garbahaarey.
(Mapping Militants; Wikipedia)
Deals with the government
On 15 March 2010 ASWJ and the Transitional Federal Government signed a power-sharing agreement: the group would back the fight against al-Shabaab and receive ministries, diplomatic posts and senior security positions. Sheikh Mohamed Sheikh Hassan signed for ASWJ. The group later said the promised posts were not delivered (Mapping Militants).
In February 2015 ASWJ fighters and the national army clashed at Guri'el, leaving at least 16 dead; a five-point agreement followed on 5 March 2015 (Wikipedia, citing Al Jazeera and Goobjoog).
Galmudug, 2017–2021
In December 2017 ASWJ and Galmudug State signed a power-sharing agreement. ASWJ recognised Galmudug's authority, its forces joined the state's forces, and its leader Sheikh Mohamed Shakir Ali Hassan became chief minister (Mapping Militants). The merger took effect in January 2018 (Wikipedia). ASWJ had held Dhusamareb, now Galmudug's capital, until December 2017 (Mapping Militants). See Galmudug.
After a new Galmudug administration took office, the arrangement broke down. In September 2021 fighting near Dhusamareb killed at least 10 people, and on 1 October 2021 ASWJ took Guri'el (Wikipedia, citing BBC Somali).
Leaders named in the sources
Sheikh Mohamed Yusuf Hefow (founder), Sheikh Mohamed Sheikh Hassan, Sheikh Mohamed Shakir Ali Hassan, Sheikh Ibrahim Sheikh Hassan and spiritual leader Sheikh Mahmud Sheikh Hasan Farah (Mapping Militants; Wikipedia).
Read the primary sources yourself
Sources
- Library of Congress · countrystudies.us
- Mapping Militant Organizations, Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a · mappingmilitants.org
- Wikipedia, Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a · en.wikipedia.org
- PDF · i.unu.edu
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