Armed groups and militias
Somali Democratic Movement (SDM)
The Somali Democratic Movement (SDM) was the political and armed movement of the Digil and Mirifle (Rahanweyn) of Bay and Bakool, founded in April 1989. In June 1992 one wing was a founding member of General Aidid's Somali National Alliance, while other members leaned to Ali Mahdi. At a congress in March 1993, held under UN guard, members replaced leaders aligned with either faction. After Aidid's forces took Baidoa in 1995, the Rahanweyn Resistance Army took over its role.
In short
The Somali Democratic Movement (SDM) was the main organisation of the Digil and Mirifle, often called the Rahanweyn, the Maay-speaking farming and herding communities of Bay and Bakool, from 1989 until the mid-1990s. This page records what the sources say, without taking sides. The region is described in Baidoa and Bay and Bakool.
Founding
Wikipedia's list of civil-war factions gives April 1989 as its founding date, citing Mohamed Haji Mukhtar's Historical Dictionary of Somalia (2003), and lists among its leaders Mohamed Qanyare Afrah and M. Ali Dheere (Wikipedia, Factions in the Somali Civil War). It was one of the clan-based fronts that formed against the government of Siad Barre in the late 1980s; see Armed movements, 1978–1991.
In the Somali National Alliance, 1992
On 16 June 1992 a wing of the SDM was one of four movements that founded the Somali National Alliance at Bardere, with General Mohamed Farrah Aidid's wing of the United Somali Congress (Wikipedia, Somali National Alliance). Other members sided with Ali Mahdi Muhammad.
The 1993 congress and the Baidoa council
The Christian Science Monitor reported from Baidoa in September 1993 that, at an SDM congress held under UN guard in March 1993, representatives of both Aidid and Ali Mahdi had been replaced by new leaders aligned with neither. In August 1993 a UN-assisted district council was formed in Baidoa. The activist Hussein M. Idriss called it "the first truly Rahanweyn government since independence"; the elder Malag Moktar pressed the UN on disarmament, saying many weapons remained hidden (Robert M. Press, Christian Science Monitor, 8 September 1993). See The UN intervention, 1992–1995.
After 1995
In March 1995 the Digil and Mirifle set up a Supreme Governing Council in Baidoa. On 17 September 1995 Aidid's forces took the town and ended the council, and on 13 October 1995 the Rahanweyn Resistance Army was founded to oppose them (Wikipedia, Rahanweyn Resistance Army). The RRA took Baidoa in June 1999 and became the region's main armed movement.
Sources differ
- Founding. April 1989 (Mukhtar, via Wikipedia) or "late 1980s"; one list gives 1991.
- Leaders. Lists differ, and some names given for the SDM, such as Mohamed Qanyare Afrah, are better known from other movements.
- Alignment. Parts of the movement backed Aidid and parts Ali Mahdi; the 1993 congress tried to end both links.
Read the primary sources yourself
- Robert M. Press, "A local council grows in Somalia", Christian Science Monitor (1993): article.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Factions in the Somali Civil War · en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, Somali National Alliance · en.wikipedia.org
- Robert M. Press, Christian Science Monitor, 8 September 1993 · csmonitor.com
- Wikipedia, Rahanweyn Resistance Army · en.wikipedia.org
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- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- United Somali Congress (USC), 1989–2003The USC, 1989–2003: founding in Rome, Aidid's military wing, the fall of Mogadishu in 1991, the Ali Mahdi and Aidid wings, and what became of them.
- Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), 1985–2004The SPM, 1985–2004: origins, army defections in 1990, the Jess and Morgan wings, Kismayo, the 1998 Jubaland project, and later groups.
- Somali National Front (SNF), 1991–2001The SNF, 1991–2001: who formed it, its leaders, the 1991–92 campaign, Gedo, relations with Ethiopia and al-Itihaad, and its merger into the TNG.
- Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA), 1995–2004The RRA, 1995–2004: founding at Jhaffey, the taking of Huddur and Baidoa, Ethiopian support, the 2002 South West State and split, and the move into the TFG.
- Somali National Alliance (SNA)The Somali National Alliance, 1992–2002: how it was formed, its member factions, the war with UNOSOM II, the split with Osman Atto, Hussein Aidid's leadership and its end.
- Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI), 1983–1997Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, 1983–1997: founding, leaders, Bosaso and Luuq, war with Ethiopia, the end of its armed wing, and the people who went on to later movements.