# 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. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/institutions/somali-national-alliance/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## In short The Somali National Alliance (SNA) was the coalition built around [Mohamed Farrah Aidid](/en/people/mohamed-farrah-aidid/) in the years after 1991. It should not be confused with the [Somali National Army](/en/institutions/somali-national-army/), which uses the same initials. This page records its history from the sources, without taking sides. ## Formation, 1992 On 16 June 1992 four armed movements met at [Bardere](/en/regions/baardheere/) and formed the alliance: Aidid's wing of the [United Somali Congress](/en/institutions/united-somali-congress/), a wing of the [Somali Patriotic Movement](/en/institutions/somali-patriotic-movement/), the [Somali Democratic Movement](/en/institutions/somali-democratic-movement/) and the Southern Somali National Movement. The earlier Somali Liberation Army became its armed wing. On 10 August 1992 Aidid was elected its first chairman; a council of elders held much of the decision-making power ([Wikipedia, Somali National Alliance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_National_Alliance)). ## The war with UNOSOM II, 1993 On 5 June 1993 an attack on Pakistani peacekeepers in Mogadishu killed 25 soldiers; the UN Security Council's resolution 837 that followed led to open conflict between the SNA and UNOSOM II, which ended after the battle of 3–4 October 1993 (Wikipedia). The UN's side of these events, and the record of who was killed, is told in [The UN intervention, 1992–1995](/en/history/un-intervention-1992-1995/). On 21 September 1993 US forces captured Aidid's financier [Osman Ali Atto](/en/people/osman-ali-atto/) ([Wikipedia, Osman Ali Atto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osman_Ali_Atto)). ## The split, 1995–1996 In June 1995 an SNA congress removed Aidid as chairman and chose Osman Ali Atto; later that month Aidid declared himself president of Somalia (Wikipedia). The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, citing *Africa Confidential*, recorded that the two men fell out over setting up sharia courts ([IRB, 12 December 1997, via ecoi.net](https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/194858)). When Aidid died in August 1996, the Associated Press reported that his faction held about half of south Mogadishu and Atto's forces the other half ([Spokesman-Review, AP, 2 August 1996](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1996/aug/02/somalia-faction-leader-aidid-dies-he-was-the/)). In September 1995 SNA forces took Baidoa; the [Rahanweyn Resistance Army](/en/institutions/rahanweyn-resistance-army/) was formed that October to oppose them and took the town back in June 1999 ([Wikipedia, Rahanweyn Resistance Army](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahanweyn_Resistance_Army)). ## Hussein Aidid and the end of the alliance, 1996–2002 After his father's death [Hussein Farrah Aidid](/en/people/hussein-farrah-aidid/) was elected leader. In 1997 he signed the Cairo agreement with [Ali Mahdi Muhammad](/en/people/ali-mahdi-muhammad/)'s Somali Salvation Alliance; Wikipedia records that it later broke down. In 2001 the SNA became the core of the [Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council](/en/history/somalia-reconciliation-and-restoration-council/), which opposed the [Transitional National Government](/en/history/transitional-governments-2000-2012/). After talks in Kenya, the transitional assembly voted on 20 January 2002 to fold the SNA into the government, and the alliance was dissolved that year (Wikipedia). See [Rebuilding, 1991–1999](/en/history/rebuilding-1991-1999/) and [2000–2006](/en/history/rebuilding-2000-2006/). ## Sources differ - **Who led it in 1995–1996.** The June 1995 congress chose Atto; Aidid rejected this and declared himself president (Wikipedia). - **Why the Cairo agreement broke down.** Wikipedia attributes this to Ethiopian pressure on the Somali Salvation Alliance; the sources read for this page give no other account. ## Read the primary sources yourself - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, response SOM28291.E (1997): [document](https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/194858). - Associated Press, "Somalia faction leader Aidid dies" (1996), via the *Spokesman-Review*: [article](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1996/aug/02/somalia-faction-leader-aidid-dies-he-was-the/). --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.